A Matter of Time and Death
by Russellonfire
Summary: What if, when you died, you just... woke up that same morning? What would you do? What would you change? Jaune Arc is trying to answer that same question. But some things are out of even his control. Inspired by, and drawing heavily from Live, Die, Repeat and Not This Time, Fate, this is yet another "Groundhog Day" type of fic.
1. Preface

Most things tend to have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

A great author once wrote that one should "start at the beginning and continue until you reach the end: then stop."  
This is a tenet that many people seemed to live by. Chief among them, one Jaune Arc, a young man who found it easy to begin. One namely does this by being born, and is usually the second simplest goal in life, as a large proportion of people tend to achieve it.

Jaune then attempted to reach the end, as previously described. Normally, this is the simplest goal in life, as all people achieve it. In fact, of all the people you are likely to meet in this tiny blip of existence known simply as "life", it would be infinitely more impressive to meet a person, thing, or entity of unknown description that would not, at some unknown point, achieve it.

While one could argue that Jaune did indeed manage to reach an end, it is the stopping that seemed to trouble him.  
Regrettably, the same cannot be said for others that he became fond of.

In lieu of greater words, let us start at a beginning.


	2. Chapter 2

The trees were a verdant green, leaves shining in the late-morning sun. Its name was appropriately poetic: the Emerald Forest. Famed for its beauty as much as its danger, it was found to the East and South of the highly esteemed Beacon academy, with its vaunted arches and grandiose aesthetics. A peaceful cacophony of noise echoed forth from the forest floor. Birds twittered among the branches of the woods, desperately crying out their need to control their territory and find a mate. Meanwhile, smaller animals could be seen or heard scurrying and foraging below; many creatures such existed out here. These were simple woodland animals which lived their lives in relative contentment, causing no harm to the people in the nearby hub of Vale. Within the Emerald Forest's vast borders however, lay some of the most dangerous creatures on Remnant: the creatures of Grimm.

Vile, black monstrosities lacking any form of soul, existing only to cause and feed on the suffering of the peoples inhabiting Remnant, they were responsible for countless deaths. Their origins were mainly unknown. As hard as humanity fought against them, this was a war of attrition, one that could only result in a draw at best. Beacon academy itself produced some of the finest pieces in the eternal game that this war had become: the huntsmen themselves. It was at Beacon, and the other academies, that the huntsmen and huntresses trained to fight and kill - and frequently die against - the creatures of Grimm. And yet out here, in the forest, they seemed... smaller. Especially to one person in particular.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" The tranquil setting was shattered by a loud, high pitch scream that seemingly rent the very air. High above the forest, one Jaune Arc was careering through the sky in the pattern of his namesake. He had, at that moment, decided that forging his way into Beacon, unknown to the headmaster (possibly), assistant headmistress (probably, and keyword "mistress" if certain whispered rumours were to be believed), his family (though not for long, once they found him missing) and his newfound friends (with an abundance of air quotes on the word "friends") was perhaps the worst idea of his short, pitiful life. Having been launched from a seemingly benign platform, and possibly spraining both his ankles in the process due to the ridiculous forces involved, he was expecting to soon encounter the ground, in a life-changing manner. A terminal one, in fact.

As he crested the peak of his arc, and began to fall, he found himself thinking that perhaps he should have made better friends with the incredibly talented pre-students he met over the course of the past 24 hours. It was too late now, however. As he saw the ground rushing up to meet him, he resumed his screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-hurk!" He choked suddenly and his hoodie pulled him out of his trajectory, and towards a conveniently located tree. He slammed into it with a heavy crack, winding him in the process. He was pinned by the spear that had caught him mid-freefall to the upper region of the trunk, far above the forest floor below. Jaune was in pain, with sore ankles, barely able to breathe, terrified that his hoodie would rip and send him plummeting to his death, and wishing for nothing but his warm, dirty, and slightly disgusting bed.

But this was real. At least, he was fairly confident it was, or else he was having very vivid hallucinations. Which apparently included him being found, then abandoned by one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen. She'd floundered through the bushes in an ungainly manner - clearly unused to the shrubbery she found herself in - while he was trying to free himself from the impossibly well-stuck spear. He waved awkwardly at her.

She then immediately left.

"Wait! Come back! Who's going to get me down from here?!" He cried out.

Jaune wearily put his abandonment down to the fact that his hair was still full of dead leaves from where he'd crashed through the canopy. When the spear's owner appeared immediately after, however, he saw stars. Literally, if Weiss was to be believed. Pyrrha smiled up at him, and spoke kindly, albeit with some amusement.

"Jaune? Do you... have any spots left on your team?"

He pouted. "Very funny." He soon smiled back, after his fake affrontedness.

It was hard to stay mad at someone who had saved your life, after all.

After a mildly uncomfortable landing, humiliating himself in front of Pyrrha as a result, Jaune found himself well on his way to... somewhere. As they walked through the forest together, he was startled by a distant sound of gunfire.

"Did you hear that?"

"Gunfire." She replied in a matter-of-fact manner, coming from years of experience. "It seems our comrades have encountered the enemy." Jaune was grateful for the explanation. Pyrrha led on.

Before hitting him in the face with a tree.

To be fair to Pyrrha, it was actually just a small branch, but it still stung both his face and his pride. Not that he had much left at this point. But then, things began to get... weird. As she looked back in concern, and he rubbed his face, she began saying strange things.

"Jaune! I'm sorry!" She looked concerned, as if she'd committed a serious crime. He waved her off, revealing a scratch on his cheek.

"It's okay. Just a scratch!" He gave a nervous laugh.

"Why didn't you activate your aura?" She looked puzzled. So was Jaune.

"Huh?"

"Your aura." She repeated. Jaune, in all his wisdom, took this as a sneeze.

"Gesundheit."

"Jaune, do you... know what aura is?"

Jaune tried to play this off, as if he knew exactly what it was.

It did not work. Pyrrha dived into a simplified explanation, which remained for the longest time as the only real thing that he - and any casual observers - would know about the subject for a very long time.

"Aura is the manifestation of our soul..."

This finished with her placing her hands on him, one on his chest and the other on his head.

"...by my shoulder, I protect thee."

As the last echoes of her lines rang through his mind, he found himself glowing with energy, quite literally. His breaths felt clearer, his mind less fogged, and his fatigue and cut seemed to fade away, as the last vestiges of the phantom glow around his hands did the same. However, he was concerned by Pyrrha's sudden exhaustion.

"Pyrrha?"

"It's all right." She smiled at him. "I used my Aura to unlock yours, but the energy that protects you now is your own. You have a lot of it." He smiled back.

But he soon returned to his previous state of mild anxious confusion. Was this a permanent thing? Did this force-field require training to use? Jaune had no idea, and wasn't prepared to ask Pyrrha either, at the risk of looking like even more of a fool.

They proceeded onwards, until coming to a cave in the side of a small buff. Ignoring both Pyrrha's warnings and the dire paintings to the side of the entrance, Jaune forged ahead, with a torch to use his way.

"I'm not sure this is it..." Pyrrha spoke quietly, unsure. Jaune sighed.

"Pyrrha, I made the torch. Could you at least humour me for, like, five more feet?"

The inside of the cave was musty, and the air foetid. The sides were covered with gashes, but these were only barely visible. _If only I could use my aura as a light source..._ he mused silently to himself. This thought became even more prominent after he stumbled and fell, extinguishing the torch in a foul smelling puddle.

He had grazed his knees in the process, which answered his earlier question somewhat: the "force-field" was not permanent, and therefore it likely required training. Jaune would have to ask Pyrrha for advice on that matter, if he wasn't to die prematurely.

"Do you feel that?" Pyrrha asked, her voice coming out in a hushed manner. She sounded wary, which anybody would be able to pick up on as a warning.

"Soul-crushing regret?" Jaune replied with a despondent tone, as he felt the cold sludge seep through his now-ripped jeans.

"No, it's... warm." Pyrrha spoke with unease in her voice. A cave should not be warm, unless inhabited, or heated. And there were no signs of fire around, which left only a very large - and therefore dangerous - creature.

By the time her thoughts returned to the present, Jaune was already attempting to grab a large, glowing object dangling in front of them. Pyrrha's eyes widened, but before she could warn him, he was already suspended before the largest scorpion she had ever seen, as Jaune let out an ear-splitting screech. _Deathstalker_ , she realised. The cave drawings had been a warning, one she - and by extension Jaune - simply hadn't paid enough attention to.

But it was too late. She ran through the cave, and back out the entrance, followed by Jaune's _definitely masculine_ screams. The deathstalker burst through the rock face, pulling Jaune with it. He seemed unharmed, despite having ploughed through almost as much rock as the scorpion itself.

"Pyrrha! It's not the relic! It's not!" Jaune wailed, as he clutched onto the stinger for dear life. Pyrrha was rapidly trying to think of a way to get him down. But first, she had to ensure his safety.

"Jaune, whatever you do, don't-" she was interrupted by Jaune being flung through the air for the second time that day. "-let go..." Pyrrha turned back to the Deathstalker, before quickly sprinting in the opposite direction.

Jaune flew towards the ruins, screaming all the while. But he was interrupted mid-flight by a minor collision with a small red-and-black blur. Jaune's momentum won out, and both he and Ruby continued on towards the trees. Jaune smashed into a trunk with a loud, resounding CRACK, and Ruby following with a more muted thud. Ruby was heavily dazed.

"What was that?" She asked in a confused tone. She shook herself out of her stupor before looking around, and saw Jaune behind her, slumped over the branch she was sat on. "Oh... well, thanks Jaune, I guess. You OK?"

He didn't answer.

"Uh, Jaune? You doing OK there?" She spoke with a nervous chuckle. When he still didn't reply, she shook him gently.

Jaune's immediate response was to slowly slide off the branch, and fall to the ground like a marionette with severed strings. He lay sprawled on the ground, unmoving, limbs at unnatural angles.

Ruby's eyes were like saucers, her hands clasped over her mouth stifling her gasp, before she jumped out of the tree to kneel next to him. Yang and Blake looked on in shock, although Blake looked significantly less distraught. Nora bounded over, Ren closely behind, before stopping and staring at the scene before her.

"Well that can't be good." She quipped, albeit with a subtle dip to her usually upbeat tone. Ren simply sighed at her lack of tact.

A loud thud, followed by a drawn out groan sounded out from behind them. The group turned to face the heiress herself. She drew herself up to begin berating Ruby for abandoning her, but halted when she saw the splayed-out Jaune in front of her. She grimaced and stepped back in mute shock. Another thud near Blake and Yang signalled the arrival of Pyrrha, who also groaned, before standing up, and looking around.

"Has anyone seen Jaune? We had an encounter with a..." She ground to a halt as she took in the fearful looks of her fellow prospective students. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Eeep!" Ruby squeaked in response. Pyrrha glanced at her with a querulous look on her face, before noticing Jaune's corpse. Her eyes shot open as she started screaming in a manner befitting a four-time Mistral Regional Tournament champion.

"JAUNE!"

Jaune sat up rapidly, gasping in shock. "I'M ALIVE?!" He shouted.

"Not for much longer if you keep shouting!" Yang shot back, nailing him in the face with a pillow from where she slept on the ballroom floor.

* * *

 **So this is the first proper chapter for the longest fic (and actually, the longest document) I have ever written.  
** **I've written most of the story already. Thus far it covers volume 1. I make no promises about continuing it any further than that though, but I won't leave it on any cliffhangers or ambiguous endings. The full fic will be around 40,000 words, of which 30,000 is written.**

 **I've also made a slight edit since posting, because I wanted to add a little more bulk. Average chapter length should be between 2,000 and 5,000 words, depending on flow. If a chapter is very short, I might post two, or simply combine them, because short chapters are just a little disappointing to see.**

 **I should post once a week, but as we get further it might take longer since I haven't written much surrounding the Blake Arc, save for a few scenes I wanted to include. I tend to write outwards from points I like, rather than in any actual order. Whether this will be better in the long run, I have no idea!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

Jaune looked around, and took in his surroundings. He found himself in the ballroom. Its vaunted marble arches were covered by maroon curtains, and the grand staircase was currently blocked by sleeping bags and bedding, but even his untrained eye could see its beauty. He was surrounded by people who he didn't know. People who were probably way stronger and smarter than him.

But what troubled him was that this seemed to be the second time he'd woken up here, as he distinctly remembered doing this before. He was more than a little fuzzy on the when, however. His face drooped as he hazily recalled some of the things that had been running through his mind. He'd careered through the air in a _very_ graceful manner, before meeting - and becoming partners with - a girl named... Pyrrha? And finally the last events he could remember: the massive scorpion thing, and pain. Lots of pain. How could that have happened, if he was still here in this ballroom? Aside from his screaming, nothing was odd, or different to how he expected. He was still in his onesie (which was incredibly comfortable, and reminded him of home a great deal), surrounded by people he still didn't know.

Jaune's brows furrowed. He had no idea what was going on.

"Jaune, you doing ok there? You look a little buried." Ruby spoke. She'd walked over to him while he was distracted... he still was.

What was all that stuff in his head? He had feelings of pain, and fear, and humiliation. Was it just a dream? Or had it happened yesterday and he'd knocked himself out?

"Jaune?" Ruby looked a little concerned

No, he didn't feel sore, and everything was as he'd remembered yester... today? Would the same things happen again? Could he see the future? No, that was ridiculous. It must have been a dream. What else could it have been?

"Jaune. You're being weird." Jaune snapped back to the present.

"What? Oh... Sorry Ruby. It... I guess it was a bad dream, or something... I didn't mean to shout. I'm just... really... confused." Jaune's brows furrowed once more, as he thought back over the events of... whatever his dream thing was.

At this point Yang came over, grumbling as she began to retrieve her own pillow, clearly still annoyed at Jaune for waking her so abruptly. She stood and glared at him, then looked between him and Ruby.

"If this is your method of making friends, count me out."

"Yaaang! Don't be mean to my friends!" Ruby retorted vigorously. She caught herself after realising what she'd said however. "Wait, are we friends? 'cos I'd like us to be," she spoke, her word vomit returning. "If you're OK with it I mean, I don't want to weird you out or anything it's j-"

"Ruby, of course we're, I mean, why wouldn't we be? You're like, the only person who's spoken to me the entire time, why wouldn't I want to be friends with you? And that's even after I kinda... threw up." Jaune said with a pained, embarrassed smile. Ruby stared at him, before returning a wide smile back.

"Awesome, plus one friend!" Ruby cheered. Yang gave a tired smile at the scene.

"Nice going sis; keep this up and you'll be more popular than me before you know it. I'll be known as 'Ruby's cool older sister' yet." Yang then went back to a more neutral face. "Now if you don't mind," she glared at Jaune again, "I'm going to go shower, since I'm _apparently_ awake now." Jaune began rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Heh heh," Jaune chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that... bad dream, I guess." Yang's eyes softened, showing her softer side somewhat.

"Yeah, I can understand that. Used to get it from Ruby a lot." Yang looked at Ruby fondly, who blushed, mumbling something about _sorry_ and _big girl_. "Just don't do it again and we're cool. Or else I'll be..." Ruby shuddered as Yang paused for effect, clearly about to say something stupid and embarrassing in front of her new friend. "... _hopping_ mad." She finished while gesturing at Jaune's onesie. Ruby groaned, before staring at Jaune in a mixture of disgust and amazement as she heard him chuckle.

"Heh, I get it. Nice," Jaune said. Yang beamed brightly.

"I think we're gonna get along just fine. I'll see you guys later." Yang waved a hand as she turned and walked off in the general direction of Beacon's showers. Ruby knelt back and watched her go, before turning to face Jaune.

"Please don't encourage her. She's bad enough as it is..." Ruby sighed.

"What? It was kinda funny." Jaune replied, with a smirk still on his face. Ruby shot him a withering look in return. Before pulling her pillow up and hugging it tightly.

"You don't have to live with it..." she grumbled bitterly.

"I guess not." Jaune shrugged. "Still, could be worse, she seems pretty cool." As Ruby smiled, and gave a tiny nod to herself, Jaune looked around. He saw a tall, muscular boy with ginger hair coming out from the direction of what he assumed was the bathroom. "I'm gonna go shower as well. See you later?" Ruby nodded her assent, and Jaune stood up and walked to where he'd seen carrot top coming from.

After cleaning himself up, he glanced at his reflection. He looked pretty much the same as he always did, though his eyes were a little bloodshot. Jaune left the showers, and headed to the cafeteria area to try and get some food. He grabbed a bowl of Pumpkin Pete's, and noticed that there were no pancakes left. He usually reserved them for his worst days, so he wasn't overly disappointed. Nothing truly awful had happened yet, minus a very bad dream.

Looking around, he saw the source of the shortage: a chipper ginger girl - next to a severely put-upon green-clad boy - had apparently managed to hoard almost every pancake in the room. He was clearly not the only one frustrated by this, but he wasn't exactly about to go and make enemies on his first day. Ruby appeared just as he was finishing his food.

"Hey Jaune, come on, or we'll be late! Today's the day we show what we can do!" She babbled excitedly. Jaune chuckled nervously.

"Heh, yeah... s-show what we can do... sounds great..." he mumbled. But he followed them nevertheless.

Once in the locker rooms, he experienced a major sense of déjà vu - though certainly not for the first time today - as his locker number was far higher than he remembered counting.

Upon retrieving his gear, he found himself next to a very striking pair, engaged in conversation.

"Well that sounds grand!" Pyrrha said cheerfully.

"Great!" Weiss plotted. Jaune vaguely recalled trying to impress her before. He decided to attempt once more.

"Hey, snow angel. I was hoping you'd consider joining me for a team? I'm pretty good, if I do say so myself..." Jaune spoke with a smile, and confidence that seemed forced, even to himself.

"...you again? You don't look like you can even swing a sword, much less fight off the Grimm!" Weiss' words cut deep, and Jaune was left unable to respond. Clearly now was not the best time to try approaching her. _Perhaps after initiation_ , Jaune thought, as his face fell again. _If I make it that far_... Pyrrha decided to take pity on the stricken boy.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. You look more than capable to me!" She laid a hand on his shoulder as she said this and smiled at him. Weiss looked irritated at her words, but Jaune brightened immediately.

"Thanks! You look like you're pretty good yourself!" Jaune replied. This only dampened Weiss' already bad mood.

"Do you even know who this is?"

Jaune thought for a moment, as his memory was jogged.

"Uh... No?" Pyrrha's smile seemed to brighten slightly as he said this. "Wait!" Pyrrha's smile froze. "You look... kinda like..." At this, Pyrrha's smile seemed to become almost hollow, although hardly anyone would have been able to notice it.

She'd had years of training after all. Jaune continued in ignorance of this.

"Yeah... that girl on the cereal boxes?" She gave a peal of laughter at that, delighted at this being all he knew her from.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool to do that." She responded cheerfully. "It's not very good for you though..." She finished on a lower note. Jaune looked offended at this.

"You kidding? That's my favourite cereal you're talking about! I've got the hoodie to prove it!" He said, exasperated. Pyrrha giggled lightly.

"That must have taken a long time to get!" She said in a pleasant tone. Jaune rubbed his head sheepishly, which was becoming a habit for him now.

"Yeah... it took a while." Jaune perked up as he seemed to remember something. "Oh, I'm Jaune by the way. Jaune Arc." He proffered his hand, which Pyrrha took with a smile.

"Pyrrha Nikos. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise!" Jaune replied, a wide grin on his face. He turned to Weiss. "Pyrrha seems to think I'm pretty good, how about you? We could make a pretty awesome team if I do say so myself!" Jaune winked at her in what he believed to be an attractive manner. In Weiss' case, he was clearly mistaken.

"I remained unconvinced." Weiss lip was curled slightly, but she remained somewhat polite regardless. Jaune's gloom returned as she walked off. Pyrrha once more took pity.

"Don't worry Jaune, I'd be glad to be on a team with you." Pyrrha chirped. Jaune gave a small smile in return, before noticed Weiss waiting slightly further away, clearly waiting for Pyrrha to be alone.

"Yeah, it'd be cool. Uh, I think... uh... she is waiting for you, so I guess I'll see later?" Jaune asked hopefully. Pyrrha nodded.

"I'd like that. I'll see you then! Oh, and her name is Weiss." She waved as she walked off.

"Nice going there lady killer!" Jaune jumped as Yang slapped him on the back, and Ruby just behind her. "Seems like someone's gonna be deep in-" She was cut off as Professor Goodwitch announced over the PA system:

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

Jaune shuddered as he realised he was about to be tested. He somehow doubted he'd score well. Then again, it couldn't exactly be worse than his dream.

"Come on Jaune," Ruby said encouragingly. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

"Yeah..." he muttered, as the group began to make their way up to the cliff.

As they stood on the pads, Jaune had a distinct feeling of unease. This definitely felt familiar for all the wrong reasons. He zoned out at this point, reflecting on the reason it felt so familiar. It had just been a bad dream... right?

He suddenly tuned in to the headmaster's speech.

"Are there any questions? Good! Now, take your positions." Ozpin concluded. Jaune's eyes widened as he saw students being launched into the forest. _This was exactly like his dream_ , he realised in terror.

"Uh sir? I, uh, don't think I can get down there on my own." Ozpin smirked at this, but Pyrrha looked at him in concern moments before she was launched.

"Don't worry, we'll help you." Ozpin replied. "But think on your landing strategy fast, as we'll only give you the initial-" He was cut off by Jaune's platform launching him into the air, as well as by his screaming.

"...push." Ozpin finished, before sipping his coffee.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" Jaune's screaming echoed across the canopy. Fortunately for him, this attracted the attention of a conveniently-placed champion fighter, who prepared to save him via a very accurate spear throw. Unfortunately for Jaune -whose screaming had reduced somewhat - he now remembered more than he wanted to, and one thing in particular stuck out at this point.

Namely that he was about to be plucked out of the air by said spear.

Even more unfortunately, Jaune's instinctual response was to twitch in just the wrong way and at just the wrong time.

This didn't take him out of a direct collision course with the spear. Jaune's eyes widened as he saw the spear approach, and he renewed his screaming vigorously. But this time, instead of just snagging his hoodie...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" the spear hit something ever so slightly more... vital.

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAH I'M ALIVE?!" Jaune screamed, as he sat bolt upright.

He was promptly buried in pillows thrown at him by the very irritated prospective first year students that his screaming had just woken up.

* * *

 **So, here's what I think of as the second chapter, with the preface being just a little ditty I wrote on a whim, which you can take or leave.**

 **The first few chapters aren't really exciting, apart from being creative in the number of ways Jaune can die. It's just to set up the rest of the story, which (once again) isn't the longest in existence, but hopefully will be a satisfying read for you all. But, as I said, it's gonna be kinda slow, and very repetitive.**

 **They also serve to set up a few rules to his... semblance, for lack of a better word. I'll be more explicit with them later on. My favourite chapter so far sets out all the potential consequences for this, so trust me when I say I have put a little thought into it, although maybe not a colossal amount. Feel free to point out plot holes!**

 **On an unrelated note, RWBY vol 5 looks great so far, and Druncle Qrow is still an amazing character. I had the pleasure of watching it at RTX London during the RWBY panel (although I had a terrible view... far too many heads in the way...) and it was great listening to them talking about it.**

 **For those of you interested, I also have a youtube channel (/Russellonfire), with a grand total of TWO videos! One of which is me terrifying Barb and Arryn with a fake Yang arm, and another is a DIY project I did showing how to make wooden coasters with the RWBY emblems inlaid! Feel free to check both out. I will frequently and shamelessly plug myself here, as it seems to be inexplicably popular compared to all my other fics (although my first, "Beacon of Hope" still remains my favourite).**

 **I guess people are all suckers for time travel and "what if" fics.**

 **Thanks for reading, and enjoy Vol 5!**


	4. Chapter 4

Pushing himself out of the mound of pillows, Jaune began looking around. He was back in the ballroom, its curtains every bit the same, and the staircase just as inaccessible.

He took in the very irritated glares of his fellow students that he had so rudely awoken, apart from one who seemed to be looking at him with vague interest, and a wry smirk. But more than that, Jaune took in the fact that he was lying in the ballroom. Again.

"You doing OK there Jaune? You look a little buried." Ruby spoke, but Jaune was fixated to engrossed in his thoughts.

How was he able to remember all that stuff if it hadn't happened? It was more than feelings now. He had _memories_ of pain, and fear, but also of happiness, and friendship. It definitely wasn't a dream. Had it happened yesterday and he'd been knocked out?

"Jaune?" Ruby looked a little concerned.

No, he didn't feel sore, and it had been the same start as before... both times. On top of that, everything was currently as he'd remembered yester... today? And a spear to the chest would have done more than just knock him out. But then, would that stuff actually happen? Could he see the future?

"Jaune. You're being weird. Well... weirder than normal. Not that I know what normal for you is, but still..." Ruby spoke, while grabbing pillows and digging him out of his temporary fluffy prison.

Would that mean that he was going to have to go through all that again? With the launch platforms, and the tree, and Weiss, and the spear...

"Jaune, are you ok. You can tell me. We're friends right? Well, I hope we are." Ruby babbled, words rushing out. "I mean, I don't really know you very well yet and you don't really know me but I'd like us to be f-"

Did that mean he was going to die?! Jaune froze at that thought and blurted out:

"WHAT THE F-" only to be halted violently by a corgi pillow to the face, courtesy of Ruby.

"-FRIENDS, Jaune. Please don't swear, I'm not that bad, am I?" Ruby spoke, clearly worried that she'd somehow angered, or upset him.

Jaune reeled back, from the force, groaning. He looked back in confusion.

"What was that for?" Jaune grumbled.

"You were gonna swear. It's not because of me, is it?" Ruby looked somewhat like a kicked puppy, and if Jaune was anything, it was certainly not cruel.

"What? No, of course not. It... I guess it was a bad dream, or something... Sorry Ruby, I didn't mean to shout. I'm just... confused." Jaune's brows furrowed once more, as he thought back over the events of... whatever his dream thing was.

At this point Yang came over, grumbling as she began to retrieve her own pillow (which she had thrown, like many of the others), clearly still annoyed at Jaune for waking her so abruptly. She stood and glared at him, then looked between him and Ruby.

"Don't upset my sister." She threatened.

"Yaaaaaaaang! Don't threaten my friends! Wait, are we friends? 'cos I'd like us to be," she spoke, her word vomit returning. "If you're OK with it I m-"

"What? Why wouldn't we be? I thought I already..." Jaune trailed off with a distant look in his eyes. He blinked and snapped back to the present. "Uh, yeah Ruby. We're friends. Don't worry, ok?" He gave a weak smile. Ruby stared at him, before slowly returning a wide smile back.

"Awesome, plus one friend!" Ruby grinned. Yang gave a tired smile at the scene.

"Nice going sis; keep this up and you'll be more popular than me before you know it. I'll be known as 'Ruby's cool older sister' yet." Yang then went back to a more neutral face. "Now if you don't mind," she glared at Jaune again, "I'm going to go shower, since I'm apparently awake now." Jaune didn't look up, his vacant look making a return. Yang raised an eyebrow, before Jaune gave a slow answer.

"Yeah..." Jaune said slowly. "Sorry about that... I'm just... not feeling myself. Not sure if it was a bad dream." Yang's eyes softened, showing her softer side somewhat.

"You doing OK? Ruby used to get like that sometimes." Yang looked at Ruby fondly, who was still looking at Jaune with worry etched on her face. "Just don't wake me again and we're cool. Or else I'll be..." Ruby's eyes widened and snapped up to her sister, before she shuddered as Yang paused for effect, clearly about to say something stupid and embarrassing in front of her new friend. "... _hopping_ mad." She finished while gesturing at Jaune's onesie. Ruby groaned, before looking back to Jaune once more. He didn't seem to react to the pun.

"Sorry, I'll try not to do that again, if I can help it." Jaune said. Yang pouted as she realised he hadn't appreciated her efforts. She sighed.

"Alright. I'll see you guys later." Yang waved a hand as she turned and walked off in the general direction of Beacon's showers. Ruby knelt back and watched her go, before turning to face Jaune.

"Are you actually doing OK Jaune?"

"I don't really know." Jaune replied. "I'm just... confused I guess. Not... sure what's happening. Might have been a bad dream. Must have been..." Ruby furrowed her brows, before pulling her pillow up and hugging it tightly.

"It's OK to not know everything Jaune. Just try not to over think things. I've found it tends to make stuff worse." She spoke softly, before laying a hand gently on his shoulder. "You'll be fine Jaune, you're not alone now."

"I guess not." Jaune looked back to her, and gave a weak smile. "Thanks Ruby." Jaune looked around and saw a familiar boy with ginger hair heading away the showers. "I'm gonna go shower as well. See you later?" Ruby nodded her assent, and Jaune stood up and walked to the showers. Ruby frowned; Jaune still seemed off. _Maybe that dream affected him quite badly_ , she thought. She wondered what it was about.

She was worried about him, regardless. He'd been distant the entire conversation, and had barely met hers eyes. But when they did... they were so far away, unfocused even then. She'd seen that look before.

Her father used to wear it, sometimes. Not for a long time now, but earlier, when she was younger.

And her uncle still wore it when he came sometime.

Right before he got very drunk.

* * *

After cleaning himself up, Jaune found himself staring at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot, but not noticeably tired. But they had a thousand yard stare in them nonetheless. The kind of eyes that had seen something they never wanted to see again. Jaune hoped he'd never have to.

He splashed more cold water on his face, sucking in air as he did so from shock, and attempted to forget it. Jaune left the showers, and headed to the cafeteria area to try and get some food. He quickly noticed, much to his chagrin, that there were no pancakes left. Since they were one of his favourite comfort foods, this was a minor blow to an already-abysmal start.

Looking around, he saw the source of his disappointment: the same chipper ginger girl - next to the same green-clad boy - had once again obtained every last pancake. He was almost impressed by her balancing abilities, but bitter envy won out. He wasn't the only one inconvenienced by this either. But more than that, most of the cereal was gone too. Not a great way to begin your first day.

 _If it even_ was _his first day..._ Jaune shuddered at the thought. He sat down and resigned himself to a bowl of muesli. At least his mother would be proud. He hoped. He was barely halfway through when his muesli musings were interrupted by the sudden appearance of an eager Ruby and a more relaxed Yang.

"Hey Jaune, come on, or we'll be late! Today's the day we show what we can do!" She babbled excitedly. Jaune frowned at this.

"Yeah... we'll see..." he mumbled, unnoticed by Ruby in her excitement. But he stood and followed them nevertheless, feet treading a familiar beat.

Once in the locker rooms, he followed the same path to his locker, walking as if in a trance. He wasn't surprised at its high number on its face this time however. Upon retrieving his gear, he sat on a bench, and rested his elbows on his knees. Lowering his chin to clasped hands, he lost himself in thought. What exactly was happening? Was he losing his mind? Why was everything repeating, and why could he remember it? His musing were interrupted by a soft, lilting voice.

"Hello there. Are you OK?"

He looked up and found himself, unsurprisingly, stood next to a distinctly recognisable pair. Pyrrha looked down in concern, while Weiss' lips tightened, and the corner of her mouth pulled back in contempt.

"Hey..." Jaune spoke haltingly. "You guys look well prepared. Maybe you have room for one more?" As he spoke, his eyebrows lifted in a hopeful expression, before returning to their previously furrowed state as he looked back down at the floor.

"...you again? You don't look like you can even swing a sword, much less fight off the Grimm! Why would we want to be teamed with you?" While her words were still hurtful, Jaune was paying far less attention than he had previously. His mind was still occupied. But Pyrrha interrupted once more by laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. You look more than capable to me." She spoke softly, and smiled at him. Weiss looked irritated at her words, but Jaune gave a weak smile. It seemed that Pyrrha was guaranteed to be kind to him, which was something at least. And even if he was having a truly awful day, he was not exactly going to ignore that.

"Thank you. It means a lot to hear that. You look like you're pretty good yourself though." Jaune replied, his voice still distant. This only dampened Weiss' already bad mood.

"Do you even know who this is?" She spoke harshly.

Jaune barely hesitated.

"Uh... Pyrrha right?" Pyrrha's smile seemed to dim slightly as he said this. "I keep hearing you're a celebrity. But really... I only know you from Pumpkin Pete's." Pyrrha's smile returned somewhat.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool to do that." She responded cheerfully. "It's not very good for you though..." She finished on a lower note. Jaune snorted as he gave a real smile for the first time that day.

"Yeah, I've heard. But it's still my favourite cereal. I've got the hoodie to prove it." Pyrrha giggled lightly.

"That must have taken a long time to get!" She said in a pleasant tone. Jaune gave another tired smile at that.

"Yeah... it took a while." Jaune's eyebrows came together. "Oh. I... I guess you don't remember me..." Pyrrha looked guilty as he said this.

"No, sorry. Have we... met before?"

"Not really... it's Jaune by the way. Jaune Arc." He stood and proffered his hand, which Pyrrha took with an apologetic smile.

"Pyrrha Nikos. It's a pleasure to meet you, even if it is for the second time."

"Likewise." Jaune replied, a polite smile gracing his features. He turned to Weiss. "Sorry for interrupting there. I'd like it if we could be on a team still." Jaune said.

"We shall see." Weiss spoke far more politely this time, though still seemed to view him with disdain. As she walked off, Jaune's face returned to its previously worried one. Pyrrha once more took pity.

"Don't worry Jaune, I'd be glad to be on a team with you." Pyrrha chirped. Jaune gave a small smile in return.

"Thanks Pyrrha. But... it's not that I'm worried about." He finished gloomily. Pyrrha looked on expectantly, but quietly, waiting for him to finish. He picked up where he left off. "I don't know if I'm ready. And I don't think I can do this alone." At this, Pyrrha laid her hand back on his shoulder.

"You don't have to be. I-" She was cut off as Professor Goodwitch announced over the PA system:

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

Pyrrha sighed. "Well, shall we?"

"Uh... after you." he finished lamely. Pyrrha nodded her assent, and together they made their way to Beacon's cliffs.

At the cliffs, Jaune took his place on the launch pad. He stared out across the verdant expanse before him, oblivious to the words of the headmaster before him. What was happening? Why was he finding himself here again?

"Mr Arc. I suggest you pay attention." The stern voice of Professor Goodwitch interrupted him once more, as the headmaster began his speech. "It may save your life." She glared at him, before resuming reviewing her tablet.

"I don't know if that's even possible anymore..." Jaune mumbled, and Pyrrha glanced at him when she heard. He sighed, before listening in to the remainder of Ozpin's explanations.

"Any questions?" Ozpin asked. "Good."

Jaune resumed staring at the forest, and inhaled a lungful of air, before expelling it slowly.

"Mr Arc." Jaune's eyes snapped up to Ozpin.

"Hmm?" Jaune queried, confused.

"Good luck." Ozpin spoke, before taking a sip of coffee.

The corner of Jaune's mouth pulled into a slight frown, before he nodded and braced for launch, which came shortly afterwards. This time, his ankles did not suffer any jarring, although he still screamed loudly as he was flung into the air, above the verdant expanse before them.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAA-"

Jaune cut himself off quickly as he remembered the next likely event. Namely, the spear.

Jaune stopped himself from twitching. _Last time I moved, I didn't make it,_ he thought, _but if that time before wasn't a dream..._

As Jaune was busy doing his best impression of a limp fish, Pyrrha's spear snagged his hood, and pinned him to the same tree as the first time. This had the side effect of giving Jaune time to think.

Last time, he'd died. He'd been impaled by the same spear as was currently holding him high above the forest floor. He tried not to look down. But this time, because he'd done something different, he hadn't been... killed. The word was a struggle for Jaune to wrap his head around, but he _had_ died. Presumably twice.

The first time was still fuzzy, although he could definitely remember a giant scorpion, a cave and a lot of screaming. And before that, Pyrrha? And something about... aura? He couldn't remember in enough detail. One thing he did remember though...

Jaune looked as Weiss forced her way through the bushes. He waved at her, although her only response was to walk in the opposite directions. He heard an excited, girly voice exclaim something as she walked off. If Jaune remembered correctly though...

"Hello again." Pyrrha waved up at him. Jaune gave his first, genuinely happy smile for the entire day.

"Hey. Thanks for the help."

"Not a problem. Let's see if we can't get you down!" Pyrrha said with a pleasant tone.

Once on the floor, they set off together, but were soon halted by the sounds of distant gunfire. Jaune voiced a familiar concern.

"Was that... what I think it was?"

"Gunfire. It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy." Pyrrha stated, before moving on. Jaune followed closely behind, only to be smacked in the face by an errant branch. As he was sprawled on the ground, Pyrrha exclaimed "Jaune! I'm sorry!"

Jaune stood up, and rebuked her apologies. "Heh, it's ok, just a... scratch..." He finished slowly, remembering this event's previous iteration.

"Why didn't you activate your aura?" Pyrrha looked confused.

"My aura... it's... like a forcefield right?" Jaune remembered this from the first time around. Pyrrha smirked at his simplistic view.

"If you want to look at it that way. Here, it seems yours isn't unlocked, or it would have helped protect you. Close your eyes, and concentrate." Jaune did so, and Pyrrha put a hand on his chest, and the other on behind his head. She began to recite a distinct passage.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." They opened their eyes as she finished.

Pyrrha immediately looked confused at the lack of results.

"I don't understand. I just tried to unlock your aura, but nothing seems to have happened. It's as if... your aura is already unlocked, but If that were the case, then it should have protected you from injury, or at least healed you. But... this makes no sense!" She exclaimed it frustration. Jaune sighed and scratched his eyebrow as he thought back.

"I think... it has been unlocked. I don't remember very well but… yeah. But it hasn't stopped me from getting hurt. But when y- someone unlocked it, it healed this-... a cut I had." Jaune halted several times, realising how ridiculous it would sound if he told Pyrrha that she was the one who unlocked it already. "Is that normal?"

"...no. No Jaune, it is not. I think we had best get some help as soon as we are finished." Pyrrha spoke with a frown. Jaune nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. Shall we?" He gestured ahead.

As they continued walking, they came across an eerily-familiar cave. Jaune hesitated as he scoured the basic paintings on the side. Pyrrha made to move forwards, but Jaune held out a hand to stop her. Pyrrha looked confused.

"It looks like there could be something important here. Isn't it worth looking at?" Jaune shook his head.

"There's a Grimm in there..." he spoke quietly, pointing at the crude drawing of a scorpion on the rock face. Pyrrha paled.

"Deathstalker..." she whispered.

"Uh... if that's what it's called... Either way, we should head the other way." Pyrrha nodded her assent. But as they began to back away, a large screeching wail echoed forth from the cave. Pyrrha and Jaune locked eyes, before Jaune shouted.

"RUN!"

They began sprinting in the opposite direction, and behind a loud crunch came as the arachnid Grimm shattered the cave entrance. This only hastened their retreat.

However, Jaune's lack of fitness began to tell, and he slowly began to fall behind. When Pyrrha noticed this, she turned and took pot-shots at the Grimm behind them, causing it to falter.

She was forced to repeat this several times as they ran towards the temple, where a small group had already gathered.

* * *

The temple itself was old. Its ancient stonework lay crumbling, and covered in moss. Upon its pedestals stood chess pieces, which were highly out of place against the decrepit ruins. Nearby, stood a small group of students, who had seemingly survived the trials of the day. One was suffering more than the others, however.

Yang's frustration began to boil over at the ludicrous shenanigans she was facing. Suddenly she snapped, and shouted in frustration as her hair burst into flames.

"I can't take it anymore! Can't everyone just chill for like five seconds!"

Nora bobbed her head pleasantly, but Blake pointed to the sky. The group looked up to see Ruby tumbling face first towards the hard ground below. Yang sucked in breath, clearly fearful for her sister's safety.

However, as Yang prepared to launch herself forwards and catch her sister, Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose, and slowed herself down by using it like a pogo stick. She still landed with an audible thumb and a prolonged groan, but her impact was far from terminal, or even damaging. Yang dragged her into a hug, which Ruby protested against strongly.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorryyy... it's not like I meant to. But me and Weiss-"

"Weiss and I..." Blake mumbled under her breath, with Ruby not even noticing.

"-were on a Nevermore and we needed to get down-" Ruby was cut off as Yang's hug suddenly tightened further.

"...NEVERMORE?!"

"eep..." Ruby choked out.

"And where's Weiss now?! Why would she abandon you?" Ruby paled, as she looked back up to the black dot in the sky. A faint, shrill voice could be heard over the wind, assisted by aura (as is the case in all things).

"How could you leave me!" Weiss cried, hanging on for dear life to the talon of the gigantic bird. The group looked back to Ruby, who shrugged and shouted back simply.

"I said jump!"

Yang sighed.

"She's gonna fall."

Ruby waved off her concerns. "She'll be fine."

Ren took this opportunity to contemplate the quiet life he could have lead with Ruby as a partner, and decided that he was far happier simply being Nora's companion. He did, however, point out the newest development in the situation.

"She's falling."

Weiss plummeted towards the ground below. As she came ever closer, a series of glyphs began to form beneath her as she waved her rapier in seemingly random directions. As she hit each one, she lost a bit of momentum until slowly but surely, she came to the clearing floor with a gentle landing. Even Ren seemed impressed, although his way of showing it was to raise his eyebrows by the merest fraction of an inch. Nora expressed this for him, however, by clapping loudly and bouncing on her feet.

Once she dusted off her pristine skirt, Weiss looked up and narrowed her ice blue eyes at Ruby. Glaring, she pointed her finger at her.

"Never do that again." She declared in a very irked tone. Ruby swallowed, and nodded. The rest of the group backed away from this exchange, and shot worried glances between themselves as the white-clothed heiress approached. This tension was shattered as they saw two people, emerging at a full sprint from the edge of the forest. Following closely behind was the deathstalker that had been chasing them since they first started running. The one in front was a tall, blond knight, who looked utterly exhausted, and was visibly straining to continue. The girl behind was running with more ease, and seemed able to continue for much longer. Her long hip cape billowed behind her.

She turned in a practised motion, and looked to be dropping to one knee. But she had clearly misjudged exactly how close to the scorpion she was, as by the time she had raised her rifle, the deathstalker smashed her away with a heavy claw. She flew towards the temple, and landed in front of the assembled group with a loud thump, and a prolonged groan. Yang was the first to recover.

"...thanks for dropping by. At least now the gang's all here, so we can die together!" Her humour was blunt and sarcastic, and highly appropriate.

"Not if I can help it!" Ruby replied. She shot towards the approaching Deathstalker, speeding past the clearly-tired Jaune. However, when she tried to attack with Crescent Rose, the Grimm simply blocked with a claw, and she bounced back as the remainder of the group looked on in terror.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted, clearly concerned as she rushed forwards.

"I'm Ok!" She cried out, before turning to see the scorpion right behind her. She fired to distract it as she tried to escape. Jaune turned back, and paused, trying to decide whether he should - or even could - help, and extended his shield ready.

But before he could do anything, the Nevermore swooped back, and launched a barrage of feathers at the crimson reaper. One pierced her cloak, stopping her instantly. Yang was halted in her place, and fell backwards to avoid being hit. Jaune, however, had suffered slightly more.

He raised his shield above his head to prevent another impalement, but his inexperience was telling. He failed to use proper technique: instead of tilting it away to deflect the force, he held it flat. As a result, when his shield was struck by a feather from above, all of the force went straight into his forearm.

A loud CRACK! sounded out, as the bones in his arm snapped, and he fell to the ground shouting in pain.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried, also rushing forwards. As Jaune looked up, he saw the Deathstalker creeping towards Ruby, ready to attack. However, as both he and Yang looked on with impotence, a flash of white flew past.

In the blink of an eye, Weiss had produced a wall of ice between herself and Ruby, and the Deathstalker, trapping its tail solid. Jaune gaped at them, looking on as the pair exchanged a few words. Ruby looked satisfied with the outcome, until Yang launched herself at her sister, extracting squeaks of pain.

These were shortly followed by Jaune's own, as Pyrrha reached him and hugged him in turn. He winced as she trapped his arm. Upon noticing, Pyrrha immediately stepped back, concern in her eyes.

"Jaune! Are you ok?"

"Not really..." he ground out through clenched teeth. "My arm... I think it's broken. The feather..." Pyrrha's eyes widened in realisation. She stepped back, putting her hands to her mouth.

"Jaune, I'm so sorry! I didn't know-"

He waved her off with his sword hand. "Not your fault. But uh... could ya help me put my shield away? I'm kinda... stuck..." he finished lamely, gesturing at his broken limb. Pyrrha nodded, and with some tenderness, assisted him in removing the sheath/shield part of Crocea Mors while he winced at every move. He collapsed it with difficulty, and put the sword inside, resting both on his hip. They walked towards the ruined temple to meet with the remainder of the group.

Weiss, Ruby and Yang caught up to see him cradling his arm, while Pyrrha looked on with concern. "You OK there lady-killer?" Yang asked. Jaune nodded.

"Yeah, broken arm though." When Yang made to interrupt, he cut her off with a wave of his good arm. "I'll explain later, if we make it out of this." Looking up, he pointed at the Nevermore, which was about to turn back from its flight away, which it made for unknown reasons. "It's circling back!" Ruby nodded, and chewed her lip before announcing her thoughts.

"There's no point trying to fight this thing in the open. We should leave, and try and get to better ground." She received nods in agreement at this. Jaune had a wry look on his face.

"Run and live? That'll be the day..." Yang snorted as he trailed off. She punched his shoulder, causing him to wince as his arm was jolted; she promptly stepped back, hands up in apology. The members of the gathering who hadn't known about his arm looked on in confusion. Jaune found himself once again waving off concerns.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just grab those relics... I just want this day to end." He came across tired, and annoyed.

Ruby nodded in understanding. "Right."

The pair each grabbed a chess piece: Jaune a golden rook, and Ruby a knight of the same colour. Pyrrha took the opportunity to use her hip sash to produce a make-shift sling, while Jaune heard Nora whispering something about it being white, but he ignored it for now. "Let's move!" Jaune started jogging as he shouted, noticing the bird creeping closer in the sky. A shattering behind him announced the Deathstalker's newfound freedom, which only spurred them on.

As they ran towards the cliffs, they reached a new set of ruins, which provided cover from above. Setting Nora to distract it, the group made for the central column, to try and get across the gaping chasm before them. She ducked and weaved between a bombardment of feathers, before unleashing a barrage of her own. One caught the bird squarely, causing it to squawk in outrage, and peel away. The Deathstalker approached rapidly, and the group ran over the bridge, with the scorpion close on their heels. However, as they ran across the Nevermore swooped back, crashing through the stone supports and sending Jaune flying forwards. Blake, Pyrrha and Ren remained trapped on one side, and everyone else on the other. Jaune stepped towards the edge, hunched over and still cradling his arm. Indecision warred on his face, before he exhaled sharply, and set his face in grim determination.

"We have to help them!" Jaune nervously looked down the crevasse, to the deep valley floor below, face becoming worried more than confident. "...But I don't think I can make that jump..." Nora smirked, and proceeded to shove Jaune back further along the Bridge, who winced as his arm was jarred. She then jumped high into the air, before coming crashing down on the broken bridge with her hammer. The impact turned it into a launch pad, and sent Jaune flying - and screaming- through the air towards the group fighting the Deathstalker. She then used her hammer's grenade launcher to fire herself towards them as well.

Unfortunately, she had slightly mistimed her strike. Instead of being flung clear of the gap, Jaune slammed into the very edge. His breastplate took the brunt of the impact, but it still left him winded, dizzied, and with cracked ribs. This distracted him for just long enough that he began to slide off the edge. He scrabbled for anything to hold on to, to no avail. As he was about to slide over, the fingers on his good hand caught on the very edge. Jaune was hanging one-handed over the deep scar in Remnant's surface, legs flailing slightly, as his broken arm hung limply by his side. It hurt too much to try and use it, so he was left with just his right hand to support him.

He found himself seriously regretting his lack of physical strength, as he began to slowly lose his grip. Professor Goodwitch observed from afar, via her tablet.

"His aura levels are still very full. He should be more than capable of taking such a fall, even if he doesn't employ any landing strategy... though any student should be able to simply pull themselves up from that position. Still," Glynda added, turning to Ozpin, "should we intervene, Headmaster?"

"Hmmm." Ozpin pondered the question. "No, I believe for now we should simply let events run their course, for good or ill. Everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves after all..." Ozpin trailed off thoughtfully as he continued to watch as Jaune dangled helplessly.

"HELP!" Jaune shouted. But this went unnoticed as the Deathstalker continued to distract the group. He whimpered. Looking back down, Jaune gave a heavy sigh, and accepted his fate begrudgingly.

"Damn it, not a-" Jaune slipped.

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" The students turned to view the source of a very loud shrieking, albeit one which grew rapidly quieter. Pyrrha covered her mouth with both hands, and Ruby gave a startled "EEP!" as they watched his descent.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" Jaune was cut off by a terminal connection with the floor, at a very high speed.

Even the Nevermore seemed impressed at the spatter radius, and gave a shrieking "CAAAWWW" of approval. Professor Goodwitch froze upon seeing the result. Professor Ozpin, looking at the scene of carnage on his screen at the same time as taking a sip of his ever-present coffee, gagged slightly. It was, perhaps, the only time drinking coffee had ever made him feel even slightly ill.

He proceeded to swallow it. Wasting good coffee is a crime, after all.

"AAAGAIN!" Jaune sat up rapidly. Before being hit in the face with solitary pillow.

He seemed to have annoyed far fewer people this time.

* * *

 **This is probably going to be the longest chapter for quite a while, because I just didn't want to break the flow. I'm not happy with it, because I felt it was too jumpy, or rushed, and some of the dialogue feels stilted to me. On the other hand, I'm not a professional writer, and I didn't take English past GCSE, so sue me.**

 **A few more things Jaune's realised crop up, namely that he doesn't have to stick to the same events to succeed, which might come up a bit later, and that he can he injured quite painfully. Fun times.**

 **Next week will, once again, be a forest episode. They're kinda hard to avoid, but once we're out of it, it'll progress much faster, and I'll start using references to repeats, instead of making you read the same events over and over. But for now, it's just endless repetition I'm afraid.**


	5. Chapter 5

Looking around, Jaune groaned. He was back. Again. What was this, the fourth time he'd woken up here? He noticed Ruby approaching. Despite everything, he smiled at her. It seemed she was every bit as kind as he'd hoped, since she never failed to come and help once she noticed his distress. Slumping right next to him with one knee drawn up and the other leg outstretched, she voiced her usual concerns.

"You doing OK there Jaune? You sounded pretty off... I mean, shouting and all."

"Yeah." Jaune sighed. "Just... a bad dream. A... the... same one actually." Ruby nodded glumly.

"I know the feeling. I used to get them all the time, after my... well. After." Ruby trailed off a bit, and Jaune was curious. He didn't want to pry however, so he simply bumped her shoulder with his. She looked up and smiled. At this point, Yang walked over as before, with pronounced grumbling aimed in his direction. Jaune held up a hand in remorseful greeting, face held in a grimace, to forestall any threats. It didn't work.

"You woke me." She glowered. Then, glancing at her sister, she spoke again with a more teasing tone. "Playing for the sympathy vote eh? Don't try anything with my sister or else..."

"YAAANG!" Ruby looked mortified, blushing. Jaune stammered slightly, before giving up on that line of response all together.

"I...I didn't mean to wake you. Sorry. It's just been... a repeated bad dream." Yang softened, as he'd hoped she would once again.

"Yeah, I know that. Ruby used to get them, so I've dealt with a few..."

"She said. Seems like you're pretty good at looking out for her. I can see where she gets her caring side from." He chuckled, before turning to Ruby. "By the way Ruby, thanks for checking on me. I appreciate it, even if I'm pretty much OK." Pausing, he remembered something else. "You're a good friend."

Ruby preened at that, blushing, before perking up at his wording.. "Yay! Plus one friend!" She cheered. Jaune laughed, and Yang looked somewhat proud, before focussing back on Jaune.

"Don't try and distract me now. I'll forgive you this time, but don't do it again, or I'll be..." She paused for effect, and while Ruby groaned, Jaune couldn't resist.

"Hopping mad?" He suggested, gesturing at his rabbit feet. Yang's eyes widened, but Ruby visibly recoiled from him, face frozen in abject horror. Yang then broke out into a wide grin.

"Hah! I knew I liked you for a reason. See Ruby, you can't escape!" While Ruby seemed to try and climb in on herself, Jaune shrugged.

"Eh, it was obvious. Anyway, I'm going to go shower, and get ready for today. And maybe I'll even get pancakes this time..." He trailed off, before literally trailing off towards the showers, leaving a nearly catatonic Ruby, and Yang, who was doing her best impression of the Cheshire Cat.

On the way though, he bumped into the tall, well-built (that is, taking after a tank), ginger boy he'd seen leave the showers before. He was roughly barged aside as the boy grunted a rude "Watch it!"

Jaune mumbled a hasty "sorry" to him, before continuing on. He once again found himself in front of the mirror after his shower.

This time, he had a far less despondent experience. _So..._ he thought. _I can't use aura. I apparently die. And every time I die, I wake up... here. But not everything is the same. I can change things._ Jaune smiled, before his eyes widened. _But if I change them too much, I'll have no idea what's happening. So if I just try and do the same stuff, and don't try anything too drastic..._ Jaune grinned _, I might make it out alive!_

Cheered by this potential way to break out of his loophole, Jaune left to go to the cafeteria. This time, he'd managed to arrive early enough that there were still pancakes left. He was borderline ecstatic, and immediately grabbed a stack. Upon sitting down, he prepared to eat. But he made a critical mistake.

He took his eyes off the stack for an instant.

And in that time, they vanished.

Looking around hastily, Jaune's eyes landed on the excitable ginger girl from before. But this time, she had two plates of pancakes. Jaune's eyes widened. The green-clothed boy looked up and saw his distress, before shrugging at him, and continuing with his own food.

Jaune's mouth opened in shock, and sorrow, before he dropped his head into his arms. Moments later, something hard bounced off his head, and landed before him. Looking up, he saw the cause of his pain.

An apple. Jaune looked up, and the green-clad boy held up his hand, palm up, as a sign of apology. He then proceeded to scold the ginger girl as she was in the middle of inhaling the last pancake of the plates; it hung limply from her mouth. When he was done, the girl unfroze, sucking it up like nothing had happened. The boy sighed. Turning back to Jaune, he called out.

"My apologies. You learn not to take your eyes off your food when Nora is around." He ignored an indignant "Hey! Reeeeen!" from the girl Jaune assumed to be Nora. Jaune gave a weak smile in return, but committed the suggestion to memory. If he was ever to get past this... well, _this_ , he'd need all the advice he could get.

After his disappointing breakfast - yet another recurring theme of his life - he ventured into the lockers. He was now a dab hand at obtaining his gear from the correct place, and once again overheard Weiss' plotting.

Jaune decided not to try impressing her again. It hadn't worked before, so perhaps he had best leave it for now. He began to walk away, before catching himself. _If_ _this isn't all a dream_ , he thought, _then I need Pyrrha's help..._ He sighed, before walking over to them once more.

"H-Hey..." Jaune said haltingly. "You're looking well prepared. Maybe you have room for one more?" Jaune spoke politely, and with a smile. Weiss simply glowered.

"...you again? You don't look like you can even swing a sword, much less fight off the Grimm! Why would we want to be teamed with you?" Weiss' words didn't cut as deep as they had before, but Jaune still didn't respond. If this was anything like before...

"I'm sure you'll be fine. You look more than capable to me!" Pyrrha laid a hand on his shoulder as she said this and smiled at him. Weiss looked irritated at her words, but Jaune smiled, as his hopeful attempt had paid off.

"Thanks! You look like you're pretty good yourself!" Jaune replied. This only dampened Weiss' already bad mood.

"Do you even know who this is?"

"Uh... Pyrrha right?" Pyrrha's smile seemed to dim slightly as he said this. But this time, Jaune noticed. _She clearly doesn't like being recognised. Well, if it worked before..._ He immediately followed up with another repeated phrase. "From Pumpkin Pete's, I think." Pyrrha's smile returned, as he'd hoped (and deep down, knew) it would.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool to do that." She responded cheerfully. "It's not very good for you though..." She finished on a lower note. Jaune looked offended at this.

"You kidding? That's my favourite cereal you're talking about! I've got the hoodie to prove it!" He said, exasperated. Pyrrha giggled lightly.

"That must have taken a long time to get!" She said in a pleasant tone. Jaune rubbed his head sheepishly, which was becoming a habit for him now.

"Yeah... it took a while." Jaune perked up as he seemed to remember something. "Oh, I'm Jaune by the way. Jaune Arc." He proffered his hand, which Pyrrha took with a smile.

"Pyrrha Nikos. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise!" Jaune replied, a wide grin on his face. He turned to Weiss. "Pyrrha seems to think I'm pretty good, how about you? We could make a pretty awesome team if I do say so myself!" Jaune winked at her in what he believed to be an attractive manner. In Weiss' case, he was clearly mistaken.

"I remained unconvinced." Weiss lip was curled slightly, but she remained somewhat polite regardless; a remnant of her upbringing. Jaune sighed as she walked off, no stranger to this by now. Pyrrha, dependable as always, took pity.

"Don't worry Jaune, I'd be glad to be on a team with you." Pyrrha chirped. Jaune gave a small smile in return.

"Yeah, it'd be cool. I guess I'll see you in the forest." His smile faded. "If I make it that far, that is..." He finished gloomily. Pyrrha looked confused.

"The forest? When are we going to be in the forest?"

"Uh, aren't we there for initiation?"

"But we haven't been told where-" She was cut off as Professor Goodwitch announced over the PA system:

"Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

Pyrrha looked at Jaune in askance.

"Where did you hear that?"

"Uh, I can't really remember. But I guess I just... knew?" He tried to explain, though Pyrrha looked unconvinced. "I don't know, I've been having the weirdest day, everything is just déjà vu. I think we should go, I _really_ don't wanna annoy the scary blonde lady..." he finished lamely. Pyrrha nodded her assent, and together they made their way to Beacon's cliffs.

They stood there, overlooking the vast forest. Jaune inhaled deeply, anxious about what he knew was about to happen. It was going to suck no matter what he did, but he'd just have to deal with it as best he could.

Following his taking position on the platform, Jaune proceeded to ignore Ozpin's speech. It seemed irrelevant now anyway, since he was confident of how events were about to go. However, just to drive in the nail, he spoke up.

"Professor Ozpin? I think I could use some help on a landing strategy..." Ozpin smirked at this, but Pyrrha looked at him in concern moments before she was launched.

Ozpin hummed. "Well, I generally find that the first step is heading in the right direction."

"Yes, that's what I was worried about." Jaune sighed, before flailing his way through the air. This time however, his screaming was more to attract Pyrrha's attention than to voice his fear, since he was far less afraid of death-by-ground than other alternatives.

And it worked.

As before, he swiftly found himself on the receiving end of a spear throw, which was always made with startling precision... Jaune was curious about this, and pondered her skill while dangling high above the ground.

Upon sending Weiss away - seemingly just by talking to her - and being retrieved by his new... old partner, the pair headed off in the same direction as before. Jaune considered trying to guide them away from the situation.

 _Is it worth trying to avoid the Deathstalker? I'm sure we could manage it..._ Jaune thought. _But then again... better the devil you know. And knowing my luck, I'll run into something far worse._ He sighed, but perked up upon hearing gunfire in the distance. _Yang_. But apparently having unexplainable knowledge could be difficult to... well, explain. And he definitely didn't need any more difficulties in his life.

"It seems some of our comrades have encountered the enemy." Pyrrha noted. And if Jaune remembered, what came next was...

He caught the branch, albeit clumsily. When it gently _thwacked_ against his hand, Pyrrha glanced back, before holding a hand of her own in apology, to go with a profuse "Sorry!".

"It's no big deal. I didn't get hit, it's fine. We should keep moving though." He smiled at her, and she returned the gesture before proceeding.

As always, they came across the cave. When Pyrrha made to continue, albeit warily, Jaune stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. He shook his head, and pointed at the drawings. Pyrrha's eyes widened in recognition.

"There's a Deathstalker in there." Pyrrha spoke, her face changing into a grim expression, and Jaune nodded in reply. "Should we head the other way?"

"No. It's probably got our scent by now. We should run. Now!" He gestured quickly in the opposite direction.

As he finished, Jaune took off in a dead sprint, with Pyrrha close behind. A few moments later, there was a loud crash as the grimm burst through the rock. But this time, he'd managed to give them enough of a head start that they kept ahead without too much difficulty. Jaune still ended up lagging behind Pyrrha somewhat, but not as much as before. _Strange..._ he thought, although he didn't stop and question it.

By the time they reached the clearing, it was right behind them. Pyrrha dipped to her knee and shot at it quickly, giving Jaune just enough respite to reach the main group, and Pyrrha arriving shortly after courtesy of Deathstalker Airlines. Weiss and Ruby had seemingly arrived beforehand.

Ruby was about to charge off towards the arachnid Grimm when Jaune laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him in confusion. He answered quickly.

"None of us have the weaponry to kill that thing. But if we delay it, we might make it out. Weiss... can you freeze it?" Jaune didn't want Ruby to doubt herself, but he didn't want her to end up hurt physically either. Weiss looked sceptical, but nodded nonetheless. Waiting for her opportunity, she shot forward as before, and froze it in place by its tail.

As before, the group obtained their chosen relics, and ran to the temple ruins. And, as before, Jaune soon found himself separated from some of the group. But this time, he was ready. When Nora used the bridge as an impromptu landing platform, Jaune propelled himself forwards with far more grace than his last, disastrous attempt.

That is to say, he crashed into the opposite side of the bridge face first with a muffled groan, but was still able to remain on that side safely, instead of sliding into the chasm below. He opened his eyes, and stood up unsteadily, before looking back to where he'd been flung from. He immediately cheered. Progress was occurring in measurable quantity.

"I did it! I made i-

"JAUNE!"

"HRUK" he choked out at the same time as Pyrrha's scream.

Jaune's adulations had been halted suddenly. Looking down, he saw the tip of a golden stinger protruding from his chest, just poking above his armour. With a sticky-sucking sound, the stinger was retrieved. Jaune stood aloof for a moment, his comrades staring in horror, before he slowly keeled forward, in his most graceful act to date.

As he fell, the only thing that went through his mind, in a manner eerily similar to an infamous bowl of petunias, was " _Oh no_ , _not again_." He plummeted towards the chasm below, and once again made a piece of modern art at the base.

He sat up rapidly, sucking in breath that had previously refused to come, since his blood had been blocking it. When he'd calmed down, he sighed.

Before shouting "DAMMIT!" somewhat loudly. Multiple pillows were sent his way in recompense.

* * *

 **Yet another chapter in the forest, I'm afraid. It's a little annoying to read, I'm sure, but there were some scenes (and deaths) I really wanted to include. It's not fun to rewrite the same sequence over and over though. But I don't see Jaune being able to immediately succeed, just like in all the other places where this type of story happens.**

 **On the bright side, there is only one more chapter in the forest, which I think will come as a relief. Unfortunately, it's also the shortest, because these chapters have had enough padding.**

 **Speaking of, I had a little fun, and wrote a small extra, which is definitely not in character. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **OMAKE**

Jaune was frustrated.

"GAH!"

And starting to get more than a little angry.

"HRUK! DAMMIT NOT AG-"

Dying was, frankly, not a pleasant experience.

"No no no no no NO NONON- SHI-"

Dying repeatedly? That became more than a little tiring. He'd read stories where the main character has some ability to keep coming back to life, and honestly? After a while it got repetitive. And if it can get boring just hearing about people dying again and again... and again... it was far worse "living" it. For want of a better word, that is.

So when - after a particularly drawn out death wherein he had to endure dozens of tiny nevermore pecking him to death, following a disastrous wrong turn into a nest - he snapped, it came as almost no surprise to... well, nobody, since from the point of view of everyone _else_ he went from bumbling idiot to a ball of rage in the course of a single night.

He got up and simply marched-

"Hey Jaune!"

-straight past Ruby, with a cross between a thousand yard stare and blazing fury on his face.

"...sorry to bother you." Ruby mumbled, looking like a kicked puppy. And not even when more furious than a charging Beringel was Jaune going to be cruel to her. Her turned to her sharply, and clapped his hands on her shoulders, looking her dead in the eyes. She looked a little scared, frankly.

"Ruby, you're a good friend. And I think you're really cool. But I will see you later."

With that, he let go and walked straight to the showers. Ruby stared after him, taken aback and with a fearful look on her face. She gasped when Cardin bumped into him, worried he'd been hurt. Cardin gave his usual line.

"Watch where you're g-"

Only to be cut off when Jaune simply pulled back his fist and punched him so hard he left a dent in the wall. Even Yang was impressed. Ruby blinked slowly. Cardin was slumped at the bottom, and she was certain that if life was a cartoon, he'd have small birds flying around his head.

Jaune had simply carried on with his day, and not even Nora had tried to steal the pancake stack he was attacking like it had literally murdered his family.

In the locker room, he accidentally bumped Weiss, who was highly affronted.

"Do you know who we a-"

"Shhh. Not now. Too screechy." Jaune cut her off, before just walking away, too angry to consider an adequate landing strategy without Pyrrha. So when the time came, and he found himself standing on the launch pad, he stood fuming.

With his jaw clenched, mouth pinched and fury in his eyes, the other students were almost cowering from the sheer anger he exuded; even Professor Goodwitch avoided meeting his gaze, and sighed in relief after Ozpin launched him midway through his speech, just to get him away.

When Jaune somehow made it safely to the floor following an improbable series of safe misses, and landing unharmed in an inexplicable haystack in the middle of a forest filled with angry monstrosities, he just did not care, and promptly stalked towards the temple ruins.

* * *

"RUBY!" Yang screamed in fear, as the Deathstalker's tail rocketed towards her sister's face, only to be halted by a wall of ice as Weiss stepped in to save her. They had a brief heart to heart, before dashing off to grab their relic. Pyrrha was anxious, as not only were they still in danger, but she had yet to obtain a partner, and only hoped this would not result in failure for her.

"The nevermore landed, briefly, but now it seems to be circling back." Ren reported dutifully. Ruby nodded.

"Then let's get out of here."

"I agree. No sense fighting them if we can get away." Weiss added. The group ran towards the bridges, with the Deathstalker on their tail, but managed to escape it by running onto the narrow walkway across the chasm. It stood between the arches, chittering in impotent fury, unable to get to its prey. Turning back, they saw the Nevermore heading vaguely towards them from behind the arthropod, and readied themselves for a fight.

But they paused when they noticed its movements were erratic, to say the least, jerking from side to side and wheeling off, seemingly trying to shake itself.

As it got closer, they realised that the Nevermore had a passenger on its head, who was bellowing out insults and was dedicating himself to bashing the bird's face mask in with the pommel of Crocea Mors, while it frantically screeched and tried to shake him off.

In its pain and confusion, it flew too low, and ploughed straight into the Deathstalker. It was knocked aside, and it screamed and clacked its claws in anger as it staggered from side to side. The Nevermore skidded headfirst towards the start of the bridge, and cawed pathetically as it waved a broken wing aimlessly.

Jaune was thrown clear along the bridge, and he bounced halfway towards the group of students, who were frozen in shock. He stood up crookedly, favouring one leg, and glared about, anger still fixed on his face. He turned back to the grimm, and hobbled with purpose towards them, bad leg dragging behind. The group simply watched, too afraid to interfere.

When he reached the Nevermore, it raised its head and tried to wail at him, but was cut off when Jaune buried his sword into its eye up to the cross-guard. It flopped back to the ground bonelessly and began to dissolve. Jaune pulled Crocea Mors back, expanded his shield, and stumbled over to the Deathstalker.

It screeched at him, before trying to stab him with the golden stinger at the end of its tail. Jaune smashed it to one side with his shield, cast that aside, and wrapped both arms around the limb. The Deathstalker withdrew, and tried to fling him off, but Jaune was having none of it, clutching like a limpet to the only rock for miles. When the tail was right over its main body, Jaune dropped like a stone, and buried his sword straight into its back.

The Deathstalker screamed a death wail, and began aimlessly charging around, smashing through pillars, and getting dangerously close to the edge of the chasm at times, before it pulled back.

And then went careening straight over the edge, with Jaune bellowing curses at it all the way down, as the spectators looked on in horror.

Jaune sat bolt upright in the ballroom, and hissed through clenched teeth. But then he relaxed his whole body, and broke out into a slow smile.

"Ah. Now I feel much better."

* * *

 **We all need a bit of stress relief sometimes, I guess.**


	6. Chapter 6

_Ok..._ thought Jaune pensively, as he watched Ruby approach across the ballroom floor. _If it worked before... mostly, then I'll just..._

"You doing OK there Jaune? You sounded pretty off... I mean, shouting and all."

Jaune smiled. _Rinse and repeat..._

"Yeah..." _rinse_ , "just a bad dream." _And repeat_.

* * *

That wasn't to say he kept everything the same however. Upon heading towards the bathroom, he managed to remember the brutish student from earlier, and sidestepped just before he would have been roughly pushed aside. The boy swept onwards, ignoring his motions. Jaune smirked to himself. _Seems I can change some things, and for the better. Fingers crossed I can keep the good stuff going._

Making his way quickly to the cafeteria after washing, he once again secured himself a glistening stack of pancakes. As an afterthought, and with a wicked gleam in his eye, he grabbed an apple as well.

Sitting down, he closed his eyes in silent bliss, waiting until the last moment.

"No!" He declared, as he stabbed his fork into the stack, just as they were being tugged away by a thieving ginger-haired girl. _The_ ginger-haired girl, it seemed.

She looked at him with eyes widened, before pouting impishly. The green-clad boy on the nearby table looked over with a raised eyebrow, but otherwise said nothing, even as she glared at him. The girl threw her hands up in defeat, and moaned.

"How did you even see that! I've been stealing these for years, and not even REN can stop me. Well, most of the time. He gets me sometimes. But that takes YEARS of practice!" Jaune laughed.

"I have seven sisters. If you think you're bad, you should see _their_ tricks." Jaune spoke with a wry grin on his face, before blanking. "Now shoo. I need these more than you." When Nora resumed pouting, his face became maleficent. "Here, you can have this." He proffered the apple he picked up earlier, much to her disgust. She promptly fled, and began complaining the boy Jaune presumed was either her brother... or a _very_ close friend; he was sporting an amused look on his face, which had appeared around the same time as the apple.

Jaune resumed consuming his breakfast, before heading towards the lockers.

* * *

From there, events proceeded as close to the last attempt as possible. The only change seemed to be his ability to run for longer before becoming drastically winded, though it seemed to change little in the grand scheme of things. He was still desperately running from the Deathstalker, and Pyrrha still took a flight on the claw express. The only change occurred when they had finally reached the inferior version of the Bridge of Khazad-Dûm.

Jaune once again found himself stranded on one side of the bridge, watching as Blake, Ren and Pyrrha tried to fend off the Deathstalker. Drawing his sword and shield, he bent his knees and was promptly flung across the narrow gap exuberantly at Nora's behest. This time however, he managed to execute a clumsy-but-effective roll upon landing, and rose sharply.

 _This time_ , when the scorpion attempted its stab, he sidestepped to the right and allowed the blow to skirt off his shield. _This time_ he followed with a badly executed slash to the stinger joint, which did almost nothing but scratch the segmented tail. However, this momentarily distracted the beast for long enough to give them a brief respite.

Noticing that Weiss, Ruby and Yang were also stranded, and dealing with another, equally dangerous grimm, Jaune looked around, and realised that the quiet, raven-haired girl was best suited to assist, with her... gun... thing. _God I need to learn this stuff..._

"Uh... Blake! Help them! We've got this covered... probably. Use your thingy!" Blake quirked an eyebrow. Jaune gestured wildly at her weapon, and she rolled her eyes before nodding. Jaune also seemingly needed to work on giving concise orders. Sighing, he returned his focus to the fight in front of them, and saw Ren dangling from the stinger and targeting the joint with his gun as he did, damaging it far more successfully than Jaune ever could. He flinched as he watched the boy get thrown towards a pillar, smashing into it with a loud, resounding thump. His gaze hardened. Noticing the stinger was hanging by a thread, he decided on a plan.

 _This time_ he bashed one of the claws away with his shield as it was about to strike Nora, and pointed at the stinger.

"Pyrrha!" She followed his finger and threw her shield with astounding, almost magical accuracy, severing the loose connection and dropping the heavy stinger point first into the Deathstalker's carapace, where it stood embedded, protruding like a...

Jaune narrowed his eyes.

"Nora, nail it!"

With gleeful abandon, the girl, using Pyrrha's assistance, launched herself high into the air, and came crashing down with an almighty blow, driving the point home, and through the creature. The bridge beneath them shook, and began to crumble. The three remaining students leapt over the carcass of the scorpion, and onto safer ground. Nora landed gleefully on her rear, Pyrrha performed a most perfect superhero landing (in Jaune's opinion anyway) and Jaune... landed. Ren staggered over and promptly collapsed next to them.

Jaune stood slowly, in awe that he'd come this far. _This time_ , he'd survived the Deathstalker, and while it had certainly taken far more attempts than anyone else could possibly have in the first place, he'd still done it. He was proud. This time, he was still alive.

And then he turned and gazed with a mixture of awe and disgruntled admiration as Ruby decapitated the colossal bird Grimm that had been hounding them since the temple. As its headless corpse collapsed into the valley below, he grumbled under his breath. "Bet I could do that... if I tried enough times... stupid aura."

Breaking out of his reverie, he grinned and chose to begin cheering, which Nora promptly picked up on excitedly. Ren and Pyrrha joined in with calmer applause, but honest nonetheless. Jaune's grin slowly faded as he looked back at the cliff.

"So... how do we get back to Beacon?"

The others laughed at his obvious jest. Jaune frowned.

"No, seriously."

* * *

A good deal of time later - and with aching legs - Jaune was stood in the great hall as Ozpin announced the formation of teams.

"-team CRDL, lead by Cardin Winchester."

There was dutiful applause as the giant ginger boy left the stage, while looking quite smug. Jaune made a note to avoid him if possible, as he seemed fairly arrogant. His musings were interrupted by Professor Ozpin announcing his name.

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as... Team Juniper." At this, Nora cheered, and hugged Ren. Inwardly, Jaune smiled. Those two really were very close. He nearly missed the end, due to his thoughts.

"Lead by..." _Pyrrha's gonna be a great leader._ "Jaune Arc." Jaune was shocked out of his thoughts, his face pale and eyes wide.

"Me? What? L-lead by...?" He asked in confusion, while Pyrrha looked positively joyous at this turn of events. Ozpin smirked.

"Congratulations, young man." Jaune was broken out of his confused state by a firm - but well intentioned - punch by Pyrrha, which knocked him on his backside. There was some laughter, but he didn't pay attention. _Why me? What did I do to deserve being leader?_

Leaving the stage to make way for the formation of team RWBY (lead by Ruby Rose, much to the seeming chagrin of Weiss and the jubilant pride of Yang), he shook his head as he cheered. _I hope I can do this... but it's not like I can fail, I guess... right?_ Pyrrha spoke to him gently.

"Well done Jaune, you should be proud. I'm glad we'll be together." She finished with a beaming smile. Jaune responded with a nervous smile, and a self-consciously-mumbled "Thanks".

After the ceremony, the team headed to their room. They were happy to find themselves opposite RWBY: as the teams had performed closely during initiation, this seemed ideal for them. Jaune suspected this may have been planned, but without proof he chose to ignore that possibility.

At the end of the long day - far longer for Jaune than the rest, it had to be said - the teams retired and tried to divvy up the beds. It went fairly successfully, although Nora attempted to claim all of them for herself initially. After a withering look from Ren, she settled with the one next to his, while Pyrrha and Jaune were likewise close by.

After changing and necessary ablutions were done, the members of the newly formed JNPR retired to bed. Jaune sat for a while, contemplating the events of what he had begun to think of as one day.

 _I made it. But... will I have to do that again? Is this... going to happen again? If I die, will I start at that same point, or will it change, or is that game over now I'm done with initiation? What if-_

"Jaune?"

He looked up at Pyrrha's open face. She was facing him, with a look of mild concern. Ren had passed out as soon as he fell into his bed, and Nora was snoring gently as well.

"Hmm?"

"Are you OK?" She was guileless in her question. It was... nice, he thought.

"Yeah... just..." He contemplated talking openly there and then, but would she believe him? He doubted it. He could barely believe it himself. He decided on a half-truth. "I'm just amazed I got through that. That we all did." He smiled. "I'm glad we're here." She gave a tired smile back.

"I am as well. Get some sleep, we need our leader in top form after-" she yawned, interrupting herself. "-after all. Goodnight Jaune." She finished sleepily. He smiled back, and lay down on his bed.

"Goodnight Pyrrha. And thanks... for everything."

She mumbled something incoherently, and Jaune's smile returned. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

His only hope was that he woke in this bed the next day.

* * *

 **It's over. It's FINALLY OVER. No more forest!**

 **...until the forever fall arc. Which I promise will absolutely suck like it does every time.**

 **So, generally speaking, whenever you see "this time" in italics, it's probably worth assuming that Jaune died around there. Because writing the same death in five different ways is not fun.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Jaune opened his eyes slowly, with a smile on his face. He'd done it. He'd survived, and now he was in Beacon proper! Nothing could-

He froze.

His face morphed into a visage of sheer horror.

"No..." he whispered.

The curtains.

"No." He was louder this time.

The windows.

"No!" He was on the verge of shouting.

The _staircase_.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He wailed, before sobbing into his hands in utter, haunting despair.

And when Ruby walked over to comfort him, she became very confused and self-conscious when he froze at the sight of her, before crying even louder.

 **Whoops.**


	7. Chapter 7

Jaune woke to the sound of a faint, but shrill whistle.

This was not accompanied by shouting, screaming, curses or the sudden actions of a man whose last memory was dying with varying degrees of quickness.

No, this was the slow, pleasant waking after a solid night of fulfilling sleep. In team JNPR's room. Where he currently found himself.

Upon coming to this stunning realisation, Jaune propped himself up on his elbows, and gazed around, as a wide grin slowly broke on his face.

"Yes! I did it!" Jaune cheered loudly, startling Pyrrha awake. She looked around quickly, before settling on Jaune with a confused look on her face. Nora snorted herself awake, and groaned the groan of the waking dead.

Ren didn't move a muscle.

"Jaune... what was that about exactly?" Pyrrha asked gently. She spoke politely, despite her evident bemusement at her situation. Jaune froze.

"Uh..." By this time, Nora was staring at him, arms pushing her upright. "I'm just... really excited that I made it here I guess," he finished unconvincingly. Despite this, his words brought a smile to Pyrrha's face.

"Yes, you should be proud! You've earned it." She spoke honestly and openly, and it caused Jaune to blush, and give a mumbled, embarrassed "Thanks" in response.

"Awesome. Well, now that's all settled," Nora says, interrupting Jaune's self-consciousness by sheer brazen presence, "I just want to say we're all gonna be really best friends! But maybe not more bester than me and Ren. Because we've been friends since FOREVER. Also, if you keep waking up like that, am I gonna need earplugs? Or are you just our new alarm?" Jaune stared wide-eyed at her, glancing at Pyrrha to check and see if she had the same expression on her face.

She didn't. She still had a smile, but it seemed frozen. She gave far less away, and Jaune suspected it was from deliberate practice during what he can only assume were years of television interviews.

Ren meanwhile appeared to still be asleep. Nora jumped out of bed and leant over him, with an almost-serene smile on her face. Before poking him sharply in the forehead. He opened his eyes and blinked, before sitting up and looking around, for all the world like he'd been awake for long enough that all trace of tiredness was removed.

"Good morning." Ren spoke pleasantly, without a trace of weariness. Jaune's eye twitched. "I hope Nora didn't wake you too soon."

"Uh... no. I was the first to wake." Jaune shook his head. "Hey, uh... Ren? Do you normally wake up like that?"

"Nora usually wakes me, yes. You should probably get used to it. I have spent years trying to change her methodology, but I have been unsuccessful."

"No, I uh... I meant..." Jaune trailed off, unsure how to proceed. However, when he saw the corner of Ren's mouth quirk into a subtle smile, his eyes narrowed. "You know exactly what I'm talking about." Ren snorted in a semblance of a laugh.

"Yes. It's something of a gift, albeit one acquired over time. Nora tends to be... full on." His eyes shifted to the girl who was currently flitting about the room, throwing her items into various states of tidiness with wild abandon. "You quickly adjust to her pace. It's either that or get left behind. Speaking of which, I intend to get dressed. If you will excuse me." Ren stood and gathered some clothes from his bags, before entering the dorm's bathroom and locking the door. Jaune looked back to Pyrrha, and she smiled.

"I like them." She said simply. Jaune chuckled.

"Yeah... me too."

It took a while for them to all dress, during which time they heard a strange cacophony of noises coming from the dorm room opposite... RWBY's, if Jaune remembered correctly. The sounds of drilling, hammering, and occasional screeching were coming from within, until a short silence occurred. At the end of which, one dread phrase was uttered in a shrill tone.

"It's eight fifty-five you dunce!"

JNPR leaned out of their dorm room to watch Weiss run down the corridor and disappear around the corner. The remainder of RWBY looked towards JNPR, catching their eyes.

"To class!" Ruby spluttered out, before running off with Yang and Blake in tow.

"...class?" Jaune spoke, before his team fell on him out the door. He quickly scrambled up and in a shouted in a panic. "We're gonna be late!"

JNPR ran after RWBY, during which they managed to make close the distance and catch up with even Weiss. Privately Jaune thought, as they passed under the watchful - and in one case disapproving – gaze of Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch, this was an unfair comparison as she was in heels. _Then again... so is Pyrrha... and Blak- wait, they're in normal shoes. Slash that, I'm awesome._

Jaune was surprisingly not at the back, although he wasn't at the front either. Still, it was a big improvement for him. They made it to class on time, just, and quickly found their seats.

Within minutes of Professor Port starting his... lesson... Jaune's eyes were drooping. Being impaled by a Deathstalker would have been a better way to learn about the Grimm than this... and he should know! He'd done it!

At least he wasn't alone. Looking around Jaune saw that many of the students were in much the same position as him. He wondered how-

"I do sir!" A shout snapped him out of his thoughts. It seemed Weiss was getting frustrated.

"Well then, let's find out!" Port spoke boldly, before gesturing at the cage that had seemingly appeared from nowhere. "Step forward and face your opponent!"

As Weiss left to change, Jaune found himself focussed on the cage.

"Hey... Pyrrha? When did that cage get there?" He sounded nervous.

"I... have no idea. I'm just going to ignore it until I see something otherwise." She spoke quickly, as if she wanted the subject changed.

"Yeah, sounds good, let's do that." Jaune agreed nervously.

A few minutes later, Weiss was dressed in her combat uniform. She prepared herself for the trial she was about to face, while being spurred on by her teammates.

"Goooo Weiss!" Yang cried out exuberantly. Blake was more subtle.

"Fight well!" She had managed to obtain a small flag with "RWBY" on it, though Jaune had no idea when she'd managed to do that. Did JNPR get one? Ruby's ecstatic cheer snapped him back to the fight.

"Yeah, represent team RWBY!" Weiss glared at her.

"Ruby! I'm trying to focus!" Weiss tone was snippy.

"Oh, um... sorry..." Ruby looked sheepish. Jaune furrowed his eyebrows. _Ruby was only being supportive..._

Port stepped up to the cage with an... axe-thing in his hand. "Allllright! Let the match... begin!"

With that, Port brought his axe down on the cage's lock, freeing the grimm inside, which immediately charged forward. To Jaune, it looked like some kind of boar, though he wouldn't be able to guess its na-

"A boarbatusk. Difficult for a lone fighter... especially one requiring finesse not force..." Pyrrha mumbled. _Huh_ , thought Jaune, _that was convenient_.

"So you're saying Nora would have an easier time of it than Weiss?" Jaune asked.

"Mhmm. Most definitely." Pyrrha replied without taking her eyes off the fight before them.

Weiss, meanwhile, had managed to dodge its initial charge by rolling to the side. They charged together, but Weiss misjudged her strike, and the blade of her rapier became lodged in its tusks. While struggling, Ruby called out encouragement.

"Come on, Weiss, show it who's boss!"

However, this served to distract her, as she simply glared at her leader. This allowed the grimm to fling the rapier out of her grip, and into the stands.

While this was obviously unfortunate for Weiss, who was frantically looking for her weapon, it was far more so for the unlucky student that the blade had managed to hit.

Jaune gurgled, loudly.

This drew the attention of everyone in the hall, and even the boar-like creature at the front.

His blood pooled from his throat, around where Myrtenaster was lodged; it was also pinning him to the desk behind.

All eyes were on him as he choked and clutched the sword, and even the Boarbatusk seemed stunned until one blow from Port crushed it with barely a sound.

It was the longest he had been alive after a mortal blow, and he locked eyes with Pyrrha as his life's blood leaked away. Hers were wide and in shock, green flashing brilliantly in the classroom light.

Jaune gave a grotesque, choking chuckle, before giving a thumbs up at her. His eyes rolled back and he slumped, hand falling down to his side while the other still gripped the sword.

Port cleared his throat.

"Class dismissed."

* * *

Jaune coughed loudly as he woke up, sitting upright quickly.

Normal people, having technically died, would be understandably upset.

At this point it should be clear that Jaune was far from a normal person. As a result, his actions were a little different, upon waking up to the sound of a shrill whistle. He first gasped, then coughed loudly, before sitting up, and looking around.

He grinned.

"It worked! I'm still here!" He cheered, although more quietly than the previous time. His coughing was still loud enough to wake Pyrrha, however. She groaned, but since she had not been startled as much as yesterday - if yesterday was even the right word - she was far less concerned about Jaune's antics.

""You seem happy, especially so early." She smiled at him, her emerald eyes glistening, but tired. "What's the reason for that?"

"Heh..." Jaune rubbed his head. "Just happy to be here I guess... didn't really expect to do that well." She wasn't to know he was talking about waking up after dying _again,_ and what's more, he wasn't waking up in that damned great hall, and having to go through all _that_ again! _No more launch pads for this guy!_

"You did well, you should be proud! You have more than earned your place." Pyrrha spoke kindly, as she always did. He flushed, and rubbed his head again.

"Thanks Pyrrha. I just hope I can live up to your standards." Pyrrha's smile grew, even as she slumped back onto her pillow, but Jaune froze as he realised what he'd said. _Oh no_ , he thought, _"Live up?" Yang is contagious... I'd say kill it with fire if I hadn't LITERALLY seen her set herself on fire in anger._

He remembered the previous attempt he'd made at this day, and decided they'd need to get ready a little faster. He woke Nora, and then gestured at Ren to her. She saluted.

"Aye aye fearless leader, I shall wake him immediately!"

As before, she sharply poked him, and as before, he went from asleep to wide awake instantly.

"Good morning."

Jaune sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ren, how long will it take to learn that trick?" Ren chuckled – he actually _chuckled_ – before answering.

"For me? A year. For you? We'll manage in a few weeks. With Nora's help of course."

Pyrrha and Jaune paled. They locked eyes, before slowly looking at Nora. She had a maniacal grin on her face, and she saluted smartly.

"I am always ready to help my teammates!" With that, she cracked her knuckles loudly. Jaune and Pyrrha gulped comically, before Jaune cleared his throat.

"Right... um... yes... anyway, w-we should get ready, classes start soon and we don't want to be late." The remainder of JNPR agreed, and before long, they were all fully dressed and prepared to leave. Jaune smiled. _It might just work..._

They stepped out of the dorm room, and locked it behind them. Funny... I don't actually remember if we did this yesterday. _Oh well, if I can change one thing, why not more?_

In this line of thinking, he stepped over to RWBY's door, where he overheard an excited voice announce their intentions.

"-replace them with bunk-beds!"

Jaune smirked, and knocked on the door. It was opened by Ruby, who stood looking expectantly.

"Hey Jaune, what's up? We were just organising our room, do you need anything?"

"Not really, but it's like, 8:50 I think? So uh, you can maybe do your beds later, 'cause we've got class at 9... I just thought I should let you guys know..." He trailed off as he caught sight of Weiss' eyes widening. Ruby followed his gaze, before turning back to the waiting JNPR. She held up a finger.

"Uh... to class!" It was easily the least authoritative order Jaune had ever heard, but it got the point across, and the two teams walked briskly towards the classrooms, but not before Jaune had reminded Ruby to actually lock their doors.

Upon getting there just as the bell rang Ruby poked Jaune in the side.

"Thanks for the heads up, fellow leader!" Just behind, unbeknownst to them, Weiss bristled, but Jaune smiled.

"Anytime, we've got to stick together, right? Except right now, 'cause seats..." He trailed off after the lame parting, and they went their separate ways. Jaune was tempted to sit in a different place, but realised that wouldn't solve much. If he changed too much, he'd have no idea what would happen, and surely that could only make things worse in the long run.

Port began his long-winded lecture-cum-self-promotion, and Jaune slumped. _God... not again..._

Nora groaned. "This is sooo booooriiiing! I could be killing Grimm or eating things instead of this..." She grumbled quietly. Jaune grunted in agreement.

"It's even worse the second time around..."He mumbled under his breath. This was an even better reason to not die. He'd probably kill himself just to find a way to avoid the class. And apparently, considering Ruby's antics, he wasn't the only one who was bored out of his mind. Weiss was looking increasingly frustrated too. _I guess this is the reason she did-_

"I do professor!"

 _-that._

 _..._

 _Oh damn it, there's that cage again! Magic, I swear!_

Weiss once again – to Jaune at least – stood before them, and began fighting the boar. Ruby was acting exactly as before, so Jaune prepared himself for the inevitable...

...

 _Now_.

He jerked his head to one side quickly, and winced as the blade scraped his neck. But this time, it didn't impale him. More importantly, he was still alive.

Pyrrha looked over, wide-eyed, as the blade stuck quivering between them. Jaune yanked it out, and tossed it back to Weiss. It clattered on the floor due to his poor aim, but she nodded in thanks anyway, not taking her eyes off the beast before her.

It charged as she rolled for her weapon, narrowly missing her. With Myrtenaster in hand, she stood ready, waiting. It rolled once more, but she put up a glyph to stop it, and it bounced off. Using yet another snowflake-glyph, she powered towards it, impaling it in a way that Jaune found disconcertingly reminiscent of his own prior death. As Port congratulated Weiss – before she stormed out with Ruby following closely behind – Jaune rubbed his throat, wincing.

He found it was damp and sticky.

He grimaced as he pulled his hand away, and saw it was red with blood. Not a lot, but easily noticeable. Pulling out a tissue, he dabbed at the cut. His actions made Pyrrha look over, before she did a double-take, gasping.

"Jaune! What happened, are you OK? What about your aura, why are you so low!" She continued blurting out questions as he tried to answer spluttering, until-

"Pyrrha! I'm fine, it's just a small cut!" He announced with a smile. "The sword just scratched me is all, nothing bad. See?" He took the tissue away to show her a slight nick. It had bled a lot, making it seem far worse than it was. _Not like I haven't had worse..._ Jaune thought wryly.

Pyrrha did not seem placated however. "But Jaune, why did it happen in the first place?! You aren't devoid of aura!" She held up her scroll as she said this, as evidence of her claims. Jaune grimaced.

"I guess... Aura's meant to protect us right? Kinda like a forcefield?"

"If you want to look at it that way, I suppose." She frowned as she replied. "But there's more to it than just that... and clearly it hasn't worked for you!"

"Yeah... it never does." He sighed. "I don't really know why. I haven't exactly had it unlocked for long, so I'm not used to it. I just know it doesn't work like that." He grimaced at that. "For me anyway."

"I think it would be worth discussing this with a teacher then. Perhaps Miss Goodwitch? She seems knowledgeable in these areas. I'm afraid I simply can't help you there."

"Eh… I'll think about it." Jaune hesitated. He realised that seeking help could put him –and his transcripts – under greater scrutiny, and if he was discovered, it would all be in vain. "But I want to try and sort it myself first… OK?" Pyrrha looked uncertain, but nodded.

"If… you think that's best. But be careful Jaune, you could get hurt! You've been lucky so far, but it might run out!"

Jaune made a noise that seemed a cross between a snort and a choke. _Oh Pyrrha… you have no idea._

"Maybe, but, uh, I'll be careful, so don't worry ok?" Jaune flashed a smile full of confidence, even if all of it was fake. Pyrrha seemed unconvinced, but didn't press the issue.

They made their way out of the room to see the tail end of Ozpin's discussion with Ruby, although she didn't look especially happy. Pausing on their way back to the room, they waited for Ozpin to leave. Ruby started walking back with a pensive look on her face, before Jaune stopped her.

"Ruby? You OK? Weiss was being… well…" He trailed off, unable to think of an appropriate word without being excessively harsh. Ruby blinked, and nodded.

"Yeah… I just need to show her I can do this I guess. I don't blame her for being angry, it's not like I expected to be leader. But I guess… no. I _have_ to try my best. For me and for her." She frowned, before brightening up. "So I'm gonna go work on that now… I'll be in the library if you need me, or anyone asks."

Jaune smirked, while Pyrrha smiled brightly.

"Sounds like a good plan. See you around… nerd!" He laughed good-naturedly as Ruby pouted, before waving as she walked off towards where Jaune thought the library was.

They watched her go, before returning to their dorm.

"I'm not really a good judge of this… but I think she's gonna be a great huntress one day." Jaune spoke as they walked.

"I can't help but agree. I hope we all will be."

"Yeah… hopefully."

…

 _Hopefully._

* * *

 **So, this probably helps set up a few of the "rules" for Jaune's... thing. I don't want to call it his semblance, but I guess that works too.**

 **This means that the little section at the end of last chapter was an OMAKE, for anyone who didn't actually realise that. I'm not THAT cruel. But, if I was...**

* * *

OMAKE

With a tired sigh, Jaune opened his eyes.

He was exactly where he knew he'd be.

Right in the middle of the ballroom, exactly like he had every single time before.

He'd been here so often, he knew it better than his family home. He didn't know how long he'd been living this day, over and over again. Years, decades... centuries? He had no way of knowing. He'd lost count, or stopped caring. He wasn't sure, but cared less. What was the point of counting to infinity?

He stood up.

It wasn't like there was much point anymore, he might as well have stayed in bed. But what else was he to do? The only time he'd attempted to sleep through initiation, Professor Goodwitch had thrown him out the window.

It was either that or be pounced on by Ruby. She could be a little enthusiastic.

He smirked. _She's not exactly innocent though..._

At some point, Jaune had given up on simply trying to get through initiation perfectly. After the time he had murdered every single creature of Grimm in the forest and still woken up in exactly the same place. Hell, he'd even tried staying awake all through the night, only to wake up back in the ballroom as soon as the clock hit six A.M.

Yet another fruitless endeavour.

So instead he turned to more... lecherous pursuits. Consensually, of course. Quasi-immortal he might be, but he had _standards_ damn it!

And now, he'd seduced every single woman he'd met. Within reason of course, he wasn't exactly going to take advantage of anyone.

He'd learned how to get under the skin of every woman he knew, including Professor Goodwitch. Despite her interesting choice of weapon, she had fairly normal tastes. Blake on the other hand...

Jaune shuddered. Some memories were better left alone.

Over the course of his misadventures, he'd even run into some interesting people, who he doubted he'd ever meet normally. One such person seemed obsessed with ice cream, while another had an odd penchant for fire... still, it was an experience to say the least.

And more recently, the most... _disturbing_ person he'd ever met.

If he could ever call her a person.

It had happened while he was trying to find where the Grimm came from, if only to satisfy his own curiosity.

What he'd found... had terrified him. But since he couldn't exactly die, he'd thrown his hands up in the air and gone for it.

And yet he was still here, in this same god-forsaken ballroom. He almost despised it, except he knew that was foolish.

Why couldn't he just continue with his life? He'd done everything, fallen in love and been loved by everyo-

Wait. Jaune's eyes widened.

There was one person still left.

* * *

Jaune stood at the edge of the cliffs, overlooking the sea. It had been nearly fifty years since he'd last awoken in that ballroom.

Well, technically less if you counted that party Yang threw, but since he wasn't really referring to that one time, who was he to care?

And now he was here, staring out across the edge of the world. He'd been wonderfully, ecstatically married for most of those years of freedom, since he'd finally fallen in love with the right person. And he couldn't possibly have been happier.

Their children had grown up so loved, and they'd had an amazing career, filled with success.

He smiled, as the person he loved most in this world leaned their head on his shoulder.

"I love you, Jaune." They spoke, in a low voice. It didn't matter. Jaune heard.

He turned to face them.

Their hair had long since turned to grey, but the streak of pink remained, and their pink eyes were as full of life as they'd ever been.

"I love you too... Ren."


	8. Chapter 8

"…so wait, you're telling me…" Ruby began.

"Yes." Blake was firm in her assertion, though she continued reading her book.

"But I've read it so many times…" Ruby's voice was small.

"I know, it's common. It's not your fault."

"So _nonplussed_ actually means that you're really _confused_?" Ruby spoke loudly, in a somewhat-affronted manner.

"To be so surprised or confused that you aren't sure how to react. A lot of people online use it wrong, though it's become almost a Valean slang version so it isn't exactly incorrect, but it's not really right either. Sorry Ruby. And don't even get me started on words like niggardly..." Ruby sucked in breath.

"You can't say that!" She hissed.

"Yes she can." Weiss stated bluntly. "It means being ungenerous. People can get these words confused all the time." Weiss looked thoughtful as she gently filed her nails. "I suppose it's like 'bemused' in a way."

"Doesn't that mean 'amused'?" Ruby asked hopefully.

"No." Weiss replied bluntly.

"What?!" Ruby cried in exasperation. "Everything I knew is wrong. What does it even mean then?"

"To be confused, puzzled, or bewildered." Blake spoke without looking up.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Nora asked in an impressed tone of voice.

"She reads a lot." Ruby, Yang and Weiss spoke in unison, with Yang gesturing at Blake's book in an exaggerated manner with both hands.

Blake's only reaction was to narrow her eyes as they continued scanning the pages before her.

"So you like stories? Well I've got a story for you… So! There we were, in the middle of the night…" As Nora launched into a heavily embellished retelling of the story JNPR had heard repeatedly over the last week, Blake kept reading her book. Weiss resumed her nail filing pointedly, while Yang listened intently. And Jaune…

Jaune poked his food.

This didn't go unnoticed, as both Pyrrha and Ruby looked on in concern. Upon the conclusion of Nora's story, and Ren's amendments, Pyrrha voiced her thoughts.

"Jaune, are you OK?"

"Huh?" Jaune looked up to see the table looking at him with varying levels of anguish. He looked back to Pyrrha. "Oh yeah! Why?"

"It's just you seem a little... not OK." Ruby butted in eloquently.

"Guys, I'm fine! Just, got stuff on my mind..." Jaune trailed off. He was, in this instance, telling the truth.

It was difficult yielding in combat class, even if it was the only way he could survive to finish it. But the issue was that no matter how often he tried to repeat the class, Cardin always found a way to crush him. Fighting against Grimm in a team and fighting a trained hunter in single combat with nobody to distract his opponent were two very different problems. It was one thing to know how someone would act in the fight; it was another to actually respond correctly. Jaune simply did not have the skill to react in the best way. And every time he successfully carried an attack, Cardin replied with his mace in turn. Jaune had to be perfect every time. And Cardin - while practically standing still in comparison to any of RWBY or Pyrrha – was far from slow.

Given time, Jaune could have danced around a slower, but hard-hitting opponent. But Jaune was simply not practised enough to even be on Cardin's level in terms of speed. And it showed, in more deaths than he'd experienced before. His chestplate, and his entire chest as well, had been stoved in frequently... as well as his head and limbs. Cardin had managed to finish him off both times he'd broken arms due to his unrelenting manner, rather than sheer bloody-minded brutality (though it was a close thing). On top of that, whenever he did manage to score a hit, it simply lacked strength, whether due to his lack of technique, physique, or inability to use aura properly.

In the end, Jaune had managed to fake it through a few glancing blows, enough to look like he'd taken serious hits but without actually taking damage. After that, he'd yielded, to spare himself yet another sudden start to the morning. It was still humiliating though... he seemed weak and pathetic. He knew that if they'd seen his ordeals, the spectators would have been awed by his capacity for punishment... but they hadn't, and he felt like they were judging him harshly for it. He was just so _frustrated_ ; angry even. And he felt so powerless about the whole situation.

As he snapping out of his reverie, the group turned to look at Cardin and his team flagrantly belittling a girl with long brown hair, and rabbit ears to match. They appeared to be laughing at her paid in a disgraceful display of brutish behaviour. Pyrrha turned back to her leader.

"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week!"

"It's nothing serious. Just... jokes?" His hopeful face failed to sway the table.

"Jaune, he's a _bully_." Ruby said bluntly. Jaune scoffed at that.

"Please, name on time he's 'bullied' me."

As they listed numerous instances, including the desecration of his books, and the use of his shield as an object of amusement, Jaune winced internally. _At least they don't know about the rocket locker..._ he thought to himself, then shuddered at the memory.

That had been a very unpleasant experience. Being battered half to death after being forced into the locker and sent to a random location was one thing... but breaking his neck and finishing the job on landing? That was another. Technically it made Cardin a murderer, rather than just a bully or belligerent bas-... person, but since he'd expected Jaune to have aura in its normal form, Jaune didn't really pin that badge on him quite yet.

Still, he'd rather not go through it again. He zoned in as Pyrrha spoke again.

"Jaune, if you ever need help, you can just ask."

"Ooh!" Nora stood and punched her hand, a maniacal grin on her face. "We'll break his legs!" Weiss' eye twitched, but otherwise she kept an even face as the display of savagery in front of her.

"Guys, it's fine, really! Besides, it's not just me, he's a jerk to everyone." He gestured back to CRDL, as they continued to harass the faunus girl.

Pyrrha grimaced. "Atrocious. I can't _stand_ people like him."

"He's _not_ the only one," Blake added, glowering at him with fervour.

"It must be hard being a faunus," Yang sighed. Blake's eyebrow flickered briefly, her face momentarily a complicated expression: a mixture of relief that her partner sympathised with their plight, and sadness at the truth of her words. Blake quickly schooled her features into a more neutral look.

Unnoticed by the sister-teams, Jaune stood, and slowly walked away. _I just need to figure this out..._

Unbeknownst to him however, Cardin watched him leave, a sickly smirk on his harsh face.

* * *

It was later that same day that Jaune found himself pulled to the rooftop by his partner, following a humiliating dressing down after Oobleck's lecture. He'd never felt more powerless. Jaune glanced over the city, its beautiful lights twinkling in the distance, before peering over the edge.

"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not _that_ depressed." He sighed. "It's not like it would even work anyway..." Jaune mumbled under his breath. Pyrrha gasped as she realised what he was implying.

"N-no! That's not why I brought you up here!" She pulled him back from the edge as she spoke, clearly worried. "Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class, and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so I want to help you!" At this, Jaune's eyebrows furrowed.

"You think I need help?"

"No! No, that's not what I meant." She tried to backtrack, seeing that she'd wounded his pride.

"But you just said it." He sounded bitter. He knew he was being unfair to her, but he was just so sick of feeling weak. Of feeling like no matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't compete with any of the other students. And it was crushing to realise his partner saw it the same way. She tried to explain.

"Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon, you passed initiation, you were made the leader of our team! That speaks volumes of what you're capable of!" Jaune snorted bitterly.

"You're wrong. I... I don't belong here." He glowered at the floor to one side of her.

"That's a terrible thing to say! Of course you do!" Pyrrha vehemently denied his statement.

"No, I don't!" He sighed, as Pyrrha looked nonplussed. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon..." He turned away, looking out over the city. Ashamed.

"What do you mean?"

""I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests. I didn't _earn_ my spot at this Academy!" He turned back to her, anger and shame written across his face. "I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied! And I'm only stood here, right now, because of some bullcrap that I should never have been able to pull off. I don't deserve any of it." Pyrrha's shock was evident

"What? But... why?" Pyrrha spoke quietly.

"Because _this_ is always what I've wanted to be!" He turned back to the city, and spoke quieter, but still with some force behind his words. "My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one, too. I was just never good enough." Pyrrha laid a hand on his should.

"Then let me help you!" She spoke, almost pleading. He turned on her, almost snarling.

"I don't _want_ help! I don't _want_ to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!" He was practically shouting now. Pyrrha tried to backtrack

"Jaune, I-"

" I'm tired of being the loveable idiot who can't fight, who needs to hide behind his friends while they do all the work! If I can't hold my own... If I can't do this myself, then what good am I?"

Pyrrha stretched out to touch him, if only to offer some modicum of support, but he leant back from her. She paused, fingers out, before retracting her arm and slowly closing her hand. Her eyes were shining in the moonlight, until she closed those too, and breathed out a weary sigh.

"Just... leave me alone. Okay?" Jaune spoke, faintly. Pyrrha nodded.

"If... that's what you think is best." She said quietly, hating every word.

With that, she turned around, leaving Jaune to stare out into the distance, alone.

It was a long time before he went back inside.

* * *

 **There isn't really a lot to change in this section. While I could have avoided it completely, there were some sections in Forever Fall I really wanted to do... which I'm sure you can figure out.**

 **There's a few smaller changes, namely in speech, but one much larger one that you might notice... can't imagine why that would need to happen though...**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

Jaune stood firm, Crocea Mors drawn and shield held in defiance. Around him, red leaves fell softly to the forest floor, descending from crimson trees dappled by sunlight. Forever Fall was a place of extreme beauty, never changing throughout the year. The trees produced a glorious, sweet sap not dissimilar to the maples of southern Atlas, although it was far sweeter; almost sickly at times. Unlike the maples, however, these trees produced sap throughout the year, and their leaves remained a glorious, vibrant red which baffled the scientists of Remnant. There were ongoing attempts to study it, but they were somewhat hindered by the local fauna. Birds chirped in the distance, but only in small, isolated pockets. In other areas, they tried to draw as little attention to themselves as possible, in order to avoid the ire of the other creatures that inhabited the region. Their darker brethren, and the reason for the difficulty in researching the area.

The Grimm.

Such as the one Jaune currently faced, defiantly.

Before him was an Ursa. He panted, tiredly, as he examined his opponent. It was a - for lack of a better word - _magnificent_ specimen of an Ursa Major. Its shoulder spines stood proud, declaring for all to see that it had survived for a long time, and – if the gouges in its bone plates were anything to go by – several culling attempts.

And that meant that not only was it old, and therefore intelligent, but that it was tough as well. Intelligent Grimm lasted a long time, but to survive fights with huntsmen, or at the very least, civilians powerful enough to leave deep gashes in its armour? That spoke of strength.

And strength, at least as far as Jaune was concerned, was bad. Very, very bad.

Most people in Jaune's place would have been terrified. Facing a gigantic _monster_ of a Grimm while under-trained, under-armed and over-tired? Some would have left nothing behind but a small puddle where they'd stood.

Jaune was not most people.

Instead of fear, he felt a highly unusual mixture of emotions and feelings. Irritation was high on the list, certainly. He was tired, both mentally and physically. But there was also a sense of grim anticipation (and he thanked any deity who deigned to listen that Yang could not hear his inner monologue). And there was a not-insignificant amount of anger.

But strangest of all, there was a trace of boredom.

It does tend to be tedious having to repeat the same series of events again and again and again, after all.

* * *

Following the revelation of his forged transcripts to Pyrrha, and their terse conversation, he'd believed that would be the last of it. While he knew he had upset her somewhat, he'd hoped that they could at least move past it. He'd gone to bed without major worry on his part, although he had more than a few regrets.

But the next day, Cardin had confronted him, revealing that he'd eavesdropped on the entire conversation. And the blackmail had started there and then, beginning with Jaune being forced to write Cardin's essay for him.

If only he'd revealed himself that night, then Jaune could have just jumped off the roof and be done with it.

But no, it was too late, and he was stuck. Normally he didn't deviate from what he knew because it was more reliable to make smaller changes, but now it was also because if he tried, he could be kicked out of Beacon thanks to Cardin. And now he was stood facing the largest Grimm he'd seen since initiation. Again. And when he failed to kill it, he would have to relive the shameful morning he'd already experienced. _Again_.

So it was with a sense of resignation that Jaune gave a battle cry as he charged. That's not to say he wouldn't give the fight his all, no.

Rather, that when he woke up, back in his bed with minimal sleep from the night before, following a vicious disembowelling from the Ursa, he was hardly surprised. He sighed.

 _Dammit_.

Groaning internally, he got up and set to work on following the regimen that he'd had forced on him for the past... however long. Time stopped having much meaning after the tenth attempt at the same day.

* * *

It started by sneaking out before his team woke, if only to avoid the awkward, stilted conversations that arose when he prepared with them. Since... then, he'd been forced to perform a variety of tedious, and occasionally dangerous chores. He felt the effects of a very late night and short sleep keenly, even after so many tries. It wasn't something he'd gotten used to, regrettably. It followed with breakfast that was lacklustre and again stilted in conversation, followed by a long, queasy journey to Forever Falls itself.

From there, he would inevitably join Cardin and the rest of team CRDL, to the chagrin of everyone else. Their disappointed gazes would bore into his mind until he almost wanted to throw away his place at Beacon.

The only thing that kept him going was personal pride, and even that had its limits.

But for now, he would continue to try his damnedest to succeed on his own. Because if he couldn't use his semblance, what good was he? And where else would a semblance like his even be useful? Farming? _Oh no, the combine harvester broke away unexpectedly and shredded me... pfft, yeah right._ He snorted.

"Something funny there, Jauney boy?" Cardin sneered.

"Nothing, I think I'm just allergic to the sap." Jaune gave a half truth. He was allergic, after all. Which is why he'd managed to perfect his technique over the myriad tries he'd had, so he didn't spill any.

Following his collection came the grand reveal of Cardin's plan... and Jaune's subsequent reactions. Covered in sap - from where Jaune had thrown a jar at him in defiance for his suggestion that Jaune cover Pyrrha in the stuff and torment her with rapier wasps – and very angry, Cardin then always began a vicious beat down of Jaune. And yet, despite the pain he experienced every time, Jaune wasn't once tempted to actually harm Pyrrha. She was his friend, his partner... and he would never hurt her.

The same couldn't be said for Cardin, as Jaune tried to give as good as he got. It never really worked, but he never took his 'punishment' lying down. At first, he had been crushed into the dirt by the time the Ursa arrived, but by now he had managed to evade most of the damage, and even landed a few hits on Cardin before it showed up on queue.

And then, as it always did, came the _real_ fight.

And, of course, the subsequent losses.

No matter how hard Jaune fought, how many times he ducked, weaved, rolled or serpentined, he could not always evade every blow. And for Jaune, even a single blow could be fatal.

So as he lay there bleeding out, despair began to take over. How could he do this? How could he succeed after failing so many times? Leaning against the tree where he'd been flung by the last blow, impaled on a branch and watching his life drain away, Jaune became aware of not only the Ursa approaching to finish him off, but Cardin watching in mute horror. Jaune smirked bitterly, and, as the Ursa raised a heavy paw, flipped him the bird as his life's blood drained away.

One had to take one's pleasures where one could, after all.

But the despair plagued him still. All through the morning, and even onto the oversized transport bullhead, he could not shake the fugue that hung around his head. And that one question that he could not answer.

How?

"Jaune?"

He was startled out of his thoughts by Ruby. He looked up into her silver eyes, full of concern as they were, meeting them with his own as he stared up from the uncomfortable metal seat on the bullhead. They were in the same one they always used to get to the forest, and it never got any more pleasant.

It was his eyes that caused her to deviate from the norm. Usually they were full of grim determination. But this time, they were void of all but a broken look, which spoke of someone about to give up. And Ruby had to step in at that point. She gave a weak smile.

"Lien for your thoughts?"

He gave a tired snort, before his tired eyes lowered to stare back down at the floor. He was quiet for a long time. Ruby was on the verge of asking him again when he gave a sigh, and answered in a faraway voice.

"Ruby... what would you do if, no matter what you tried, you were stuck? And couldn't see a way out? If you couldn't win the fight you faced, no matter how hard you fought... what would you do?"

Ruby frowned, before taking a seat next to Jaune, swinging her legs slightly. She looked down at the floor, and continued to stare as she answered.

"I don't know. I'd keep trying I guess. I wouldn't give up unless I had nothing to lose by doing that. But if I did?" She looked up into his eyes with an intensity that almost startled him.

"I'd ask for help. Because I don't have to do things alone. I have a team behind me, and I know we're not perfect, but we're pretty good together. Even if Weiss is a bit mean sometimes... but that's not the point! They're behind me, and they'd help me if I asked. And I would, because everyone needs help sometimes. My uncle, my dad, they all need help, and they're the best huntsmen I know! Everyone, Jaune, and that. Includes. You." With each word she prodded his chest, to drive the point home. He looked away guiltily. It had been his pride that got him here after all. Ruby continued.

"We're your friends Jaune. We're here for you. You just have to ask." As she spoke, she laid a hand on his shoulder. He was silent for a while, to Ruby's disappointment. But just as she turned away to leave, he spoke up.

"Even now?"

Ruby turned back to see him looking her in the eye, with a difficult expression that she could only place as guilty, but hopeful. He continued.

"Even after this? I've failed them as a leader and a friend... why would they still want to help _me_ of all people?" She smiled at him.

"Because that's what friends do."

He looked down, before a minute smile formed on his own face. He met her eyes once more, silver and sapphire locked.

"Thanks, Ruby. I... I needed that." She nodded.

"Yep." She put emphasis on the 'p', and he snorted. "I'm going to re-join my team. I think you should do the same. They're waiting for you." With that she left to sit with the rest of RWBY. Jaune glanced at his own team.

They seemed quiet, and even Nora was somewhat subdued. He winced, as he knew it was due to his behaviour. He sighed, and stood up. Walking over to them, he struggled with what to say.

Apart from one, obvious thing.

"I'm sorry."

Ren, Nora and Pyrrha looked up, startled by his sudden arrival. Pyrrha opened her mouth.

"Wha-" Jaune cut her off.

"I'm sorry for not being here. For not being the leader you need... the friend you need. I just..." He took a shaky breath. "I thought I needed to do it on my own. But... you were right. I need help." He looked down at his feet, before looking back up to his team. "Can... can you forgive me?

Ren had a small smile on his face. It was the closest thing to acceptance Jaune had expected or even hoped from him. Nora seemed to be building energy, until suddenly she leapt into the air with an outburst of joy.

"We follow your orders, oh fearless leader! Apology accepted!" She saluted as she stated effusively. Jaune gave a small, happy smile, before looking to Pyrrha.

She had a wide eyed, but inherently pleased expression on her face, which morphed into a small, wolfish grin. She nodded. Jaune exhaled in relief, a cheesy grin on his features.

"It's good to have you back Jaune. We missed you." She spoke honestly, but with a tinge of reproach. Jaune winced.

"I know, and I'm sorry. But Cardin has me over a barrel." Jaune sighed. "He... overheard us talking the other night, and he's holding me to ransom. Which is why I've been... not here." Pyrrha's eyes widened, and she held a hand to her mouth in shock. Ren looked vaguely quizzical, while Nora seemed... the same. Ren voiced his confusion.

"I'm sorry, but I... don't follow." Jaune froze, and opened his mouth to lie, or deflect.

"I-" He winced.

 _Well... I suppose trust is a two way street..._

"I... have a confession. To you and Nora." He inhaled, steeling himself, before sighing.

"I faked my application transcripts. I lied my way in." Ren's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, while Nora tilted her head in an almost-comical fashion. "I don't really belong here. I know you've seen I'm weaker than everyone else, but... that's why. And Cardin knows, and is blackmailing me. So... yeah. That's... basically it." He sat down next to them, and put his arms across his lap, looking dejected.

"Hmmm." Ren hummed. "It would explain some of your lack of knowledge. And it was an immoral act." Jaune winced again. "But I have no regrets about being teammates with you. You have been an excellent leader, recent events notwithstanding. And your dedication, give or take a few slips, is without much fault. There are some improvements that could be made, but... we are here to learn after all." Jaune smiled, before looking hopefully at Nora.

Who did as Nora does.

"Pffffftttt. Who _caareesss_. You're our friend, duh. And like, even if you suck at fighting you TOTALLY made sure we kicked that Deathstalker's butt. Plus, without you we'd never have become friends with RWBY and then we'd be totally alone at beacon and nobody would like us and we'd slowly break apart until we eventually all failed." Nora inhaled after her long rant. "So yeah, it's fine."

Jaune had the equivalent expression to a rabbit caught in very bright headlights, while Ren seemed to have developed a thousand-yard stare and Pyrrha blinked, before giving a weak smile.

"Yes, that... Thank you for saving us from that, Jaune. So... how do we get you out of this situation?" Pyrrha asked, desperately changing the topic.

Jaune gave a wolfish grin of his own.

"I have a plan."

...

"You gonna tell us?" Nora asked after a short pause.

"Let me have my moment!" Jaune snapped.

* * *

 **So we're solidly into the Forever Fall Arc. Arc. It's not going to take up much time, just one more chapter. But there's some good stuff coming, I promise. Sorry this post was later than I hoped. There's two full chapter's worth of writing completed, but after that it might get slower. It's planned, but putting pen to paper, or fingers to keys, might take longer. In the meantime I suggest listening to Rush Garcia's orchestration of RWBY's soundtrack.**

 **Moving on, there is an omake. One that was suggested by a few people. Honestly, I promise I didn't steal the idea, it was something I'd planned before, but you did prompt me to actually do it. So, without further adieu, here it is:**

* * *

Pyrrha walked into team JNPR's dorm slowly. Her eyes were unfocussed, ignorant of the room itself. Out of habit more than actual desire, she sat on her bed, and stared at the one adjacent to it.

His bed.

It was still unmade from where he'd hurriedly left this morning, not that she'd seen it. She had barely spoken to him since a few nights ago, before he'd become "friends" with CRDL. Their last words were frosty at best and harsh at worst, and her thoughts were harsher still. Not that she didn't care for him, of course she did! But she was disappointed in his decisions.

Not his forgery, she refused to begrudge him that, when she knew she would have done almost the exact same thing.

No, she was disappointed in his approach to solving his problems. Because of pride.

She was sure he would snap out of it soon, that he would realise it wasn't weakness to ask for help. But his pride had stopped him from talking to her openly.

His pride had prevented her from helping him, teaching him, being his friend.

His pride had prevented him from backing down.

His pride had gotten him killed.

Mauled by an Ursa, moments before they'd reached it. They barely got there in time to save Cardin, but that was too late for Jaune. She'd been numb ever since.

No. Numb wasn't the right word.

 _Overwhelmed_.

A lone tear slipped down her cheek from unseeing emerald eyes.

Yes, overwhelmed fit much better. She wasn't feeling too little, but instead was feeling far, far too much.

She wasn't sad. Devastated fit better.

She wasn't lonely. Abandoned fit better.

But there wasn't a better word than angry. She was angry that Jaune hadn't trusted her. She was angry that he had tried to take on far more than he could chew. She was angry that he'd died.

And then came the guilt. She felt guilty that she hadn't pulled him out of his pride, guilty that she hadn't saved him. She felt guilty that she wished it had been Cardin instead.

She could her the sobs from team RWBY's dorm. Ruby had been almost as close to Jaune as Pyrrha was, maybe closer as she was his first friend here. She wouldn't begrudge her that however, not now. Half of Ruby's team was giving her space, while her sister was with her, comforting her. It seemed like an act she was used to, sad as it was to admit it.

As for her own team, they seemed... less upset.

No, that wasn't fair. They were obviously grieving.

But this clearly wasn't the first time they'd experienced loss, instead just being silent and comforting each other. Pyrrha had barely noticed Nora's efforts to talk to her in the midst of her fugue, until Ren had suggested she give Pyrrha some time.

And now she was back in their room.

Without him there.

She didn't know how long she sat, staring at his unmade bed, with the sheets folded back in this perfect triangle. But the longer she stared, the more it got to her. The more those sheets bored into her mind.

She couldn't take it anymore.

She stood up, went over to the bed, and wrenched it back into pristine place.

There was a letter. Perfectly folded, with beautiful calligraphy adorning it, stating one word.

Pyrrha.

She reached out with a trembling hand, picked it up. She opened it, unfolding those perfect, crisp lines, to read inside.

Her heart stopped at the first line.

 _Pyrrha,_

 _If you're reading this, I'm probably dead._

* * *

 **The rest? That's up to you.**


	10. Chapter 10

"Throw this jar at little Miss Perfect over there."

Cardin leered in Pyrrha's direction. They were hidden behind a bluff, overlooking the area where JNPR – minus Jaune of course – were gathering sap for professor Peach.

It was a scene far too familiar to Jaune. In any other run, he could tell almost exactly when someone would do something. He could say, to the second, when Nora would down a full jar of sap with barely a difference in her manner.

This time was different.

"No."

Jaune spoke firmly. Cardin looked at him like one might at a misbehaving dog.

"What did you say, Jauney boy?"

"I said. No." Jaune glared back, his eyes hard. Cardin sneered.

"Oh, I think you will. Or else I'll have a little chat with Professor Goodwitch."

But Jaune's face didn't change. His face remained dark, and his tone was unwavering.

"I don't care what happens to me, Cardin. But you will _not_ be messing with my team."

"I'll do what I want," Cardin growled, "including putting Miss Perfect in her-"

"I said NO!" Jaune cut Cardin off with a shout, followed by an impact on his breastplate, and the sound of glass breaking. The syrup was smeared across burnished steel, and Cardin looked up with fury.

"That was the wrong move, Jauney boy. I think you need to learn some manners." Cardin lashed out with a fist, but Jaune managed to deflect it to one side with his left forearm and deliver a sharp right jab to Cardin's face.

Cardin reeled back, more out of surprise than pain. Jaune's punch lacked forced, and Cardin's aura negated almost all of the little it had. Still, it was a shock, and it allowed Jaune to back up and out of the group, so he wasn't surrounded, and Dove, Russell and Sky were unable to hit him from behind. At this point, all Jaune needed to do was delay.

"Come on Cardin, you gonna let your team finish your fights?" Jaune sneered, hoping - or at least being on the verge of _knowing_ \- that shaming Cardin himself would stop Jaune from being crushed by the entirety of CRDL.

Cardin snarled, and began raining blows on Jaune, but Jaune was able to catch most of them on his vambraces, short as they were. They still stung, as Jaune had no aura to cushion the blows, but it was better than the huge welts left by hits that missed the braces, of which there were a few. He may not have had the punching power, or even the technique of Yang, but he had some brute strength behind him.

As Jaune backed away across the crimson ground, he kept an eye on the rest of CRDL. It looked like his plan had worked however, as they seemed to be staying back, aware that this was something for Cardin to resolve, and he would be just as angry at them for getting in the way.

And then, as if from nowhere, a heavy claw came from the side and batted the three stragglers away, as if they were nothing. Cardin turned to face the giant Ursa that had entered the clearing and removed three quarters of his team in one go. They lay where they fell, as Cardin gawped at the towering creature before him. Its gouged bone plates and colossal spines spoke of age... and experience.

And to Jaune, it was a familiar sight, one that was the cause of most of his current problems.

Well... some of them anyway. The rest, if he was being honest with himself, were down to stubborn pride and lack of training.

 _Formal_ training, he corrected mentally. Repetition had to count for something, right?

The Ursa swiped at Cardin, drawn by the sap on his chest. Just as it was about to connect, Jaune pulled him to the side and caught the blow on his now-extended shield, grunting as it impacted and drove him back a few feet. Jaune grimaced. Before, he had been alone, and struggling against something that, realistically, he was unable to beat.

But this time, he wasn't exactly alone.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune bellowed out, and she was by his side in seconds.

She'd been waiting to one side as they'd agreed, moving to place after she'd heard Jaune shout, to allow Jaune to confront Cardin on his own terms. It had been frustrating, but she had promised not to interfere until he asked. So she hadn't, even as she watched Cardin try and beat Jaune into the ground, much to her worry and frustration.

But now she was here, beside him, Akoúo̱ guarding against the dark before them, and Miló fighting for them both. Jaune used his shield as a ward against blows, and to dissuade the foe before them that attacking was in any way a good idea. They stood firm, in a stalemate as the Grimm tried probing their defences, while they jabbed lightly to test the Ursa's.

Cardin was behind Jaune, stunned by the appearance of the Grimm and the disappearance of his team, who were clumped together by the treeline. He grimaced, before bellowed his challenge; he drew his mace and rushed forward in an undignified, unplanned and ill-advised attack.

"Cardin no!" Jaune shouted, trying to dissuade him. Cardin could fight people well, but he was a brute fighter, not agile, and ineffective against stronger foes. And this one wasn't stupid, as anyone – except Cardin, seemingly – could tell due to its bone plates and enlarged spines.

Cardin swung viciously from his right to his left, but the Grimm simply backhanded with its left paw, in a quick, brutal fashion. It caught the mace with it, and the impact tore it from Cardin's hands and sent it flying to the edge of the clearing. He stood dumbfounded as it started to swing the paw back in a crushing blow. Cardin's eyes widened, fear on his face.

Jaune barged in front of him and managed to take the brunt of the blow on his shield. It flung him back into Cardin, who stumbled back a few paces and fell on his haunches, but this helped dissipate the force a little. Even so, the attack was powerful, and Jaune felt as though his arm bones had nearly broken from the impact. They were certainly numbed, though Jaune knew that they would come back to haunt him. His shoulder had also been jarred, and it ached fiercely. He ignored it.

Crocea Mors in hand, Jaune grit his teeth and bared them in a snarl.

This time he would succeed. He had his friend at his back and his team believed in him. He could not fail. He _would not_ fail. He roared, and the Ursa roared back, trying to crush him with another blow and Jaune surged forward. He'd tried this dozens of times, and dozens of times he had failed.

But not this time.

A rifle crack heralded the bullet that took one of the Ursa's eyes, staggering it as it bellowed out in pain. Half-crazed by pain and anger, it reared back and lashed out, but Jaune managed to deflect it with his shield – and unbeknownst to him, a little help from Pyrrha – and slashed across with Crocea Mors.

Off balance, and with a paw smashed into the ground from its failed attack, the Ursa took the blow in the neck. Anger leant Jaune strength and the blow slashed clean through the thick trunk, separating its head from its shoulders.

It slumped forward, and Jaune took a hasty step back to avoid being crushed by the corpse. The head toppled away from the body, before starting to dissipate in the warm afternoon air.

Jaune wiped the sweat from his brow, of which any man is entitled, and after staring at the truncated form before him, he turned to give a weary grin at Pyrrha.

She beamed back, proud of her partner... of her friend.

His eyes narrowed as they flicked over to Cardin, who was still on the ground. Cardin was staring at the dissolving corpse of the Grimm, but they met Jaune's, who clenched his jaw before he strode over to Cardin's prone form. Cardin gulped, eyeing the sword still in Jaune's hand, then sighed in relief as Jaune collapsed the shield and sheathed his sword. He pinned them at his belt, before sticking a hand out to Cardin and pulling him to his feet.

"Holy crap Jaune," Cardin breathed out as he stood. Jaune yanked him closer, almost till their chests touched, and gripped his upper arm with his free hand. He leaned in, and spoke with a low growl while staring at Cardin's neck.

"I don't care what you do to me." Jaune spoke quietly but forcefully. He flicked his eyes up to meet Cardin's, who flinched from the intensity of Jaune's dark gaze. "But you are _never_ going to mess with my team. _Got it_?" Jaune finished with a hiss.

Cardin opened his mouth to respond, but when nothing was forthcoming, he just nodded mutely.

"Good." Jaune nodded his head in the direction of the rest of team CRDL, who were still on the ground, staring in awe as the final remnants of the Grimm disappeared. "Now go help them." Jaune pushed past Cardin, who stared after him for a few moments, before turning to go to his team. Jaune walked on back to Pyrrha, who was still smiling at him.

She was proud of him, for good reason. He'd stood up to Cardin, and shown he wasn't going to be walked over like a doormat on a rainy day, and he'd demonstrated bravery and the will to succeed when facing a terrifying, and far more powerful foe. And more than that...

He'd overcome himself. His pride had been unbent, and he'd worked up the courage to admit that he was wrong... that he needed help. Pyrrha gave a small smile to herself, as she promised she would give her heartfelt thanks to Ruby for her help.

"Hey..." Jaune spoke, bashfully. She smirked.

"Hello to yourself, Jaune. You did well!" She spoke easily to him, eyes filled with delight. He rubbed the back of his head, blushing.

"I mean, I was OK, and you helped a lot... plus it was kinda distracted, so-"

"Jaune." Pyrrha cut him off. He looked up, and saw her mirthful expression, as she laid a hand on his shoulder. "You did well. You should be proud... not just for killing the Grimm, but for standing up for yourself. And for overcoming your pride. Even the greatest huntsmen have difficulty admitting that they need help sometimes." She pulled him into a hug, which he returned.

"Thank you, Pyrrha." He spoke, as they broke apart. "For being there." She smiled again, and as she did, she realised that there were very few times she had felt this happy... and a long time since she had felt content.

"Always, Jaune. And thank you."

"Uh... what for?" He asked, confused. What had he done for her?

"For trusting me." She gave him another, smaller smile. He might not understand all of her problems, but for now... it was enough. Jaune returned her smile, before it turned into a wry grin.

"Always." She laughed lightly as she gently punched his shoulder.

And her eyes widened in concern as he hissed in pain, and gingerly rubbed it.

"Jaune! Are you hurt?" He shook his head slightly.

"Not really, it's just my shoulder. It, uh, took a bit of a pounding. Those things are _strong_." Pyrrha's eyebrows furrowed.

"But... your aura should have stopped it from being damaged... is your aura deplenished? Were you fighting without it? Are you-" Her rapid questions were halted as Jaune held up a hand and waved her down.

"I'm fine. Honestly. And so's my aura... I think. But it's a bit complicated."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha looked baffled.

"It's... uh... hard to explain. But I promise I'll try. Can you wait till, I don't know, later? I'd rather we had some time, since it's... weird..." He trailed off, unsure how to finish. Pyrrha's brows were furrowed again, but she nodded. She would trust him, especially today.

"Thanks, Pyrrha. Let's head back... I think Goodwitch will kill us if we're too late." She nodded, but still wanted to know what Jaune meant. As they started to leave, they saw Ruby and Yang on the edge of the clearing. They waved Pyrrha and Jaune over.

"Yo." Yang greeted them as they neared. "What was all the commotion? Sounded serious. You guys OK?" Pyrrha and Jaune shared a glance, before grinning.

"We're fine. CRDL had to see a man about a bear, but we solved that problem." Jaune spoke, and Pyrrha snorted. Yang looked on as the last ashes of the Ursa blew away in the cool breeze, and gave a wide grin, both at Jaune's success and his pun. Ruby just looked confused, but shook her head and beamed. The group began to head off.

Cardin looked on as his team stood, and after a moment, he sighed. With a glance at his team, and a sad smile, he followed Jaune's group, lagging some way behind.

* * *

The cool evening air washed over Jaune. Clouds had formed over Vale, and it had begun to rain. The city was still illuminated by the last vestiges of the sunset, casting a stunning red hue across the buildings. He stood near the edge of the roof-top where he and Pyrrha had had their somewhat-heated talk just a few nights prior.

At least, a few for her.

Jaune looked out with a wry, self-deprecating grin at the thought.

They'd returned triumphant, and the rest of his team had welcomed them back with whoops of joy and smaller gestures, depending on who you looked at. Weiss seemed indifferent, and although Blake was slightly aloof, a small smile could be seen for those who cared to look. They'd headed back to Beacon in the Bullheads. They still gave Jaune some problems, but nothing as disastrous as his and Yang's first meeting.

Thankfully.

"Jaune?"

He wasn't surprised. Anxious, perhaps, but not surprised. He'd asked Pyrrha to meet him here, so he could explain himself - and his aura problems - as well as he could. It had seemed appropriate, and if he spoke quietly – a lesson hard-learned – it would be private.

And now here she was, stood beside him, looking out over the grounds of Beacon, staring across to the distant lights of Vale, flickering in the downpour. They were beautiful, but Jaune wasn't able to focus.

"Hey." He gave a weak smile. Pyrrha looked concerned.

"Hello, Jaune..." She seemed unsure how to start. Then again, so was he. As if on cue, a flicker of lightning lit up the sky, accompanied by the crash of thunder that rolled heavily across them. It was followed by another, and then another, until in the distance barely a moment passed between strikes and crashes. They stared across to the city, watching.

"Ancient Mistralians believed that lightning and thunder were causes by the wars between the gods, during their petty arguments..." Pyrrha trailed off. Jaune smiled.

"I can believe that."

They watched on as the lightning strikes grew sparser. The scent of petrichor - sweet and pleasant from the dry heat of the prior weeks, stirred up by the heavy rain - washed over them.

Pyrrha turned to look at Jaune with a wary gaze, as if he were a frightened rabbit that would bolt at the first noise.

"...how are you feeling?" He grinned.

"Better. My arm doesn't hurt so much, but it's gonna bruise something fierce." Pyrrha's brow furrowed.

"Jaune, about that..." she trailed off. He nodded.

"I know. It's... complicated. I'll tell you, but... you might not believe me." It was clichéd, but true. How _did_ one explain this?

"I guess we'll have to see. But I'm willing to listen, if you'll tell me?" Pyrrha's face was open; hopeful, but concerned at the same time. He smiled.

"I... I will. I don't really understand everything, but I think it's to do with my semblance. I haven't really had my aura very long though, so I haven't had much chance to test it out. But basically... I heard someone say aura is like a forcefield, and mine... isn't." Pyrrha's eyes widened.

"But... Jaune, it can't! You could get seriously hurt-"

"Yep." Jaune cut her off. "I can. I have." Pyrrha looked horrified.

"But I've never seen you badly injured! How can you have been hurt?"

"Uh, it's comp-" Jaune tried to explain, before Pyrrha butted in with an exclamation.

"Jaune, you could die!" Her eyes were wide, and she was gesticulating wildly. Jaune choked, before he smirked at the ridiculousness of his situation.

She was worried. She - Pyrrha Nikos, one of the most amazing people he'd ever met, who had fought off countless people to crush them in international tournaments on _four separate occasions_ – was worried about _him_. His face slowly morphed into a sadder smile. He sighed.

"Yeah... that's... that's where my semblance comes in." Her brow furrowed.

"What kind of semblance do you have that can... save you? That stops you dying"

"About that... It kinda... do-"

"It's a beautiful evening, don't you think?" Their heads whipped around to see Ozpin stood near the doorway, omnipresent mug in hand. He had a pleasant look on his face, and seemed content to stare out across the damp, shining city, as Jaune had been doing earlier. Jaune was unsure whether or not he should answer, when he noticed Pyrrha was likewise disinclined to respond, Jaune spoke.

"Uh... yes, sir, if you like the rain." Pyrrha nodded her agreement. Ozpin looked at them both, with a small smile forming.

"I rather do. I've often found it calming to the mind. I apologise for interrupting what I'm sure was an important conversation, but I'm afraid I have something I must discuss with Mr Arc." He paused. "Miss Nikos?"

"Yes, sir?"

"May I borrow your leader?" He spoke pleasantly, but was obviously expecting an affirmative answer. Pyrrha was not disinclined to acquiesce his request.

"Of course, sir." Turning to Jaune, she spoke. "You'll tell me more later, right Jaune?"

"Huh?" He was still flustered from the sudden appearance and request of Ozpin. "Oh, yeah, of course!"

"You promise?" She asked. Jaune smirked.

"Yeah. An Arc never goes back on his word." She smiled, and nodded.

"Very well. I look forward to it. Goodnight, professor." She nodded at Ozpin respectfully as she left. He smiled at her benevolently. As the door closed behind her, Ozpin looked back to Jaune, and walked over in a slow, patient manner.

He stopped beside Jaune at the edge, still looking out across Vale.

A few moments passed, before Jaune cleared his throat.

"Uh... sir? You... said you wanted to speak to me?" He said, nervously.

"Yes..." Ozpin drawled, before reluctantly turning his head towards Jaune. And fixing him with an intense, but strangely weary gaze. One last lightning strike lit up his face, accentuating his sharp features.

"We have a lot to talk about, Mr Arc."

* * *

 **So that's basically the conclusion to the whole Jaunedice arc. I know a lot of people don't like it, but I've never had too many issues with it, apart from Jaune being dumb. Which he is.**

 **On another note, the next chapter is probably one of the longest, and also my favourite. Sadly it's also the last fully written one, and I am not going to upload over Christmas. Sorry about that.**

 **One last thing. Remember I said you could finish the letter yourselves? I lied. I'm gonna J. K. Rowling this up.**

* * *

 _Pyrrha_

 _If you're reading this, I'm probably dead. I'm sorry about that. I wrote this hoping that you would never have to find it, but in case I was wrong, here it is._

Pyrrha's hands were shaking. The letter was beautifully written, as if it had been practised. But its contents scared her. Had Jaune _known_ this might happen? Why had he prepared this? She blinked away some of the tears that had started to form, and continued.

 _But I don't want you to think I'm really gone. And I mean that literally, because of my semblance. Whenever I die, I just wake up, that same morning. Like everything has been reset. I know it sounds crazy, and trust me, when it happened I thought I'd lost my mind, or was dreaming. But it's real._

 _If you want proof, ask some of the other guys. I'd like it if they could know too. Tell Ren and Nora that they'll always have a home, and that although they should never forget Kuroyuri, they need to move on. Tell Ruby she's made her mom proud. That Yang will find hers. Tell Weiss her dad's a dick, but she's got a family right here. And Blake probably doesn't want me to reveal anything, but tell her I knew, and that she should trust everyone. That they won't treat her any differently. And Pyrrha, I know about your tiara, and what it means. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me. I'm sorry I couldn't return that trust before._

 _So don't think I'm gone okay? I might not be there with you now, but I'm somewhere, some time. Just not there right now._

 _The worst thing though, is that if you are reading this, and I am dead, it means that every time I've died, I've left people behind. And I'm sorry. You all deserve better than that, better than me._

 _Wish me luck, I'll need it._

 _Jaune_

Pyrrha was frozen, dumbstruck. She didn't know how long she sat there, processing the letter. How long the tears ran gently down her cheeks.

She noticed Nora and Ren enter, though. They saw her, and joined her on her bed, to try and comfort her.

Wordlessly, she passed them the letter. Confused, Ren took it. His face, though normally passive, shifted rapidly through sorrowful, confused, tense, and at one point almost angry even. He sighed, and passed it to Nora. Her reactions seemed to be saddened acceptance more than anything, before she gave them a shaky smile.

"We never spoke of my home to Jaune." Ren said, before lapsing into quiet contemplation.

They sat together in silence for a while, before Pyrrha spoke at last.

"I think... we should tell team RWBY. They deserve to know." Ren simply nodded, while Nora saluted.

It was with a heavy heart that they crossed the corridor to RWBY's room. Pyrrha took a breath, and knocked.

A few moments later, the door opened slowly, and Weiss greeted them. She looked up at Pyrrha, and gave a small polite smile, before stepping aside and gesturing for them to enter.

Blake was sat on her bed, looking somewhat forlorn, with a book in her lap. Pyrrha knew that she and Jaune hadn't been close, so hadn't exactly expected her to be grieving. Blake looked up and like Weiss, gave her a smile more out of condolence than anything else.

Ruby and Yang were sat on the lower bed, which Pyrrha recalled was Weiss'. Yang had her arm around Ruby's shoulders, and her eyes glistened as they met Pyrrha's. She gave a shaky smile. Ruby looked up with teary eyes, and stood up to give Pyrrha a hug, which was gingerly returned. Pyrrha cleared her throat to stop it closing up.

"There is... something I should show you. A letter. From Jaune." Ruby perked up, and Pyrrha continued. "It would be best if you were to read it yourself." She spoke haltingly, as if every word were difficult. Which it was.

Ruby wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand, and took the letter. Her face went through many emotions, before settling on a dopey smile. She gave a choking cross between a sob and a bark of laughter. Tears still streamed down her face, but there was some, small form of happiness underneath them. She passed the letter on to her sister. Her eyes went hard. She blinked, and they went red, but she calmed down after a few more. Yang sighed, and wiped her moist eyes.

"God damn it, Vomit Boy." She muttered, before wrapping an arm around her sister, pulling her in tight.

Weiss reaction was more restrained, her face taught, but she nodded, and passed the letter on to Blake.

They were all watching with varying degrees of interest. If anything were to clinch that Jaune had written the truth, it would be Blake's response.

She didn't disappoint, in that regard.

Her face went pale, taut from fear, and her hands clenched the letter. Eyes wide, they darted across the room, looking for an escape.

They settled on Yang, who had a warm smile on her face, even if her eyes were still damp.

At that, she seemed to calm down visibly, and gave a shaky smile in return.

"Can... we talk... later?" She asked, timidly. Yang just nodded, while Weiss gave a distant smile. Ruby gave a thumbs up, before turning back to Pyrrha.

"He was dumb, for not telling us." Pyrrha gave a snort, before clasping her hands over her face in shock. Ruby grinned. "But he's not gone. At least, not really. He'll get it right."

Pyrrha nodded.

He would. She could trust him that much, at least.

* * *

 **I'm not really happy with the omake, but it's not really part of the story (you know nothing Jaune Arc), so I'm not overly fussed.**


	11. Chapter 11

"Take a seat, Mr Arc." Ozpin gestured to a chair on the opposite side of his desk.

They were in Ozpin's office, at the highest point of Beacon tower. From his position, Ozpin – and by extension right now, Jaune – could see all the way to Vale from here, let alone the entirety of the school itself. Jaune took his place and waited anxiously. After a while, Ozpin spoke.

"I must say, Mr Arc, I am glad you were able to resolve the situation with Mr Winchester… and the rest of your team. Though might I recommend seeking advice sooner? You'll find it comes in handy more often than you might expect." Ozpin rested placed his hands together.

"You… uh… saw that, sir?" Jaune glanced around. There didn't seem to be any cameras.

"Yes, Mr Arc. We do have the capability to see our students at almost all times. Your dormitories are, of course, quite private." Jaune thought about that carefully, before responding.

"What about the changing rooms, sir?"

Ozpin's response was simply to tilt his head down, look up at Jaune over his glasses, and raise an eyebrow, in an expression that screamed "really?" Jaune took that as a sign that those too were private, and moved on.

"So, uh, sir? I-if you don't mind me asking, why did you want me to come to your office? N-not that I'm complaining, of course."

With a wry grin, and a raised eyebrow, Ozpin replied. "You mean I can't simply invite you here for the conversation?" Jaune just looked confused.

"I… don't think I'm that interesting, sir." Ozpin smiled at his humble honesty.

"Perhaps. But I did ask you here so that we could have a discussion. To be blunt, I've noticed some unusual behaviour on your part. For example, during Mr Winchester's attempts to belittle you, you frequently found ways to avoid him at the last moment. You also seem to have become more… determined over time, particularly today, as opposed to prior moments. I admit, these are not necessarily indicators of anything substantial, but I was curious. Your conversation with Miss Nikos earlier was also a sign of sudden growth, and I wished to have my own input. So, Mr Arc, is there anything you would like to discuss?" After he finished, Ozpin leaned back, to allow Jaune to talk.

Jaune hesitated, with something clearly on his mind.

"I… don't really know where to begin, sir." Jaune shrugged. "Beacon is… different to how I imagined. Not in a bad way, but… stuff." He finished in a lame fashion. Ozpin picked up his coffee.

"Hmm." After taking a sip, he seemingly went on a tangent to the conversation.

"Did you know I taught your father once-upon-a-time?" Jaune's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Uh, no sir. He… never spoke of you."

Ozpin chuckled. "No, I suspect he wouldn't. We rarely talk of the ones who taught us to our children. But, rest assured, I knew him. He, much like you, had something of a chip on his shoulder. Just like you, the legacy of his forebears weighed heavily, though in a different way. He was less unsure of himself as well, and admittedly had some aura training, which you seem to lack." Jaune nodded nervously.

"I… don't have much, sir. I only had it unlocked recently… my parents didn't really believe I could become a hunter, so they never bothered doing it. I barely knew what it was…" Ozpin, to his credit, seemed surprised.

"You didn't have it unlocked? But it's clearly active now… although I have noticed it seems somewhat peculiar. When exactly did you unlock it? We would have seen it happen in the forest. We _were_ watching closely, despite your suspicions." Jaune's nervous laugh came out somewhat forced.

"Uh, yeah. Pyrrha unlocked it. In the forest… at least… the first time…" Jaune stared pointedly downwards. Ozpin raised an eyebrow, and leaned forward.

"What exactly do you mean by… 'the first time'?"

"Uh… it's a little difficult to explain. Well, I guess it's not, but it's difficult to believe. I wouldn't, if it was anyone else but me." Jaune slumped in his chair.

"Mr Arc, I find it doubtful that it will be especially difficult for me to understand your situation. You'd be surprised how many… impossible things I hear on a daily basis. How many things I _live_ on a daily basis even. The number of 'Fairy Tales' that turn out to be true… But that is beside the point. I am prepared to... reserve judgement, for now." Ozpin took a moment to sip his coffee, and waited for Jaune to continue.

 _Well,_ he thought, _this is as good a time as any… but where do I beg- oh, I know._ Jaune sighed. _This is gonna suck._

Jaune detached his sword and sheath from his side, and drew the blade before laying it across his lap. Ozpin showed no real reaction to this, apart from a quick glance down. Jaune began.

"I guess… the first thing I should say is that my aura… doesn't really work. At least, not like everyone else's seems to. I've heard people say it works like a forcefield… or I guess that's how I understand it. Nobody's really given me a proper explanation. But mine… well…"

Jaune ran his thumb down the edge of Crocea Mors, slicing it as he did so. He winced, and pulled away. Ozpin's eyebrows rose as blood began to well on the ball of Jaune's thumb. Jaune started to suck it to clean it, before he finished by simply saying:

"Mine doesn't."

Ozpin continued to look at the thumb for a while, seemingly unsure of where to begin. After a pause, he sipped his coffee, and finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"That is certainly an unusual characteristic. I can assume that you aren't attempting to trick me…?" As Ozpin trailed off, Jaune shook his head. Ozpin nodded in acceptance, before looking at the sword and frowning "I didn't think so; I'd like to think I would notice. Unusual indeed, Mr Arc. It was a miracle you survived initiation at all. Hmm?" Ozpin looked up as Jaune raised a hand.

"Uh, sir… that's what I meant when I said 'The first time'…" Jaune looked more nervous than he had before. He sighed, before deciding to plough on regardless. "To put it bluntly… I kinda… didn't." Ozpin's eyebrows furrowed.

"Didn't what, exactly?"

"Uh… didn't survive, sir."

Ozpin frowned, his head almost recoiling from the answer. "I'm afraid I don't understand. When you say you didn't survive-" Jaune cut him off.

"I died. When I first did initiation, Pyrrha saved me, same as… I guess saying 'this time' is weird, but it works. Yeah, she caught me, then she unlocked my aura. It healed a cut, but then when she said it was like a forcefield… well. But then when we first saw the Deathstalker, it threw me to the temple I think? I wasn't really paying attention, I was screaming. But I'm pretty sure I hit a tree, and, well… I just woke up. Back in the ballroom, in bed, screaming still, but alive. I thought it was a bad dream, but… it happened again." Ozpin remained silent as Jaune began rambling on.

"I was launched through the air by your platforms, which was actually terrifying by the way…" Jaune spoke reproachfully. Ozpin simply raised an eyebrow, and Jaune hastily continued. "A-anyway, that time I moved I think, and Pyrrha nailed me. And I woke up _again_. And _nobody_ seemed to remember anything. Like, I was the only one who could remember stuff. So I just… kept trying. And the Nevermore broke my arm so I died on the bridge, and then the Deathstalker killed me, like, four or five more times. I lost count. But I tried keeping it all the same… so I'd know what would happen, you know? And every time I got further, until… we did it. It died, I survived. And we did it. But I still can't take a bad hit… or even a hit at all, since, well… it hurts. But I wake up on the morning I died… so I haven't had to repeat initiation even though I've died since." Jaune rubbed the scar on his neck from Myrtenaster. "So yeah… that's why I've been… weird." He looked up, expectantly.

Ozpin said nothing for a long time, long enough for Jaune to begin fidgeting profusely. He broke the oppressive silence after a few minutes.

"Hmm. Mr Arc… I _have_ heard stranger things. And known them to be true… but not by much. Quite simply, I've never heard of anyone _else_ with similar capabilities. Suspension of death, perhaps, or continuing on in some form..." At this, Ozpin seemed to almost look through Jaune, before his gaze focused back on the blond boy before him. "But not combined with some form of time displacement. While I have seen cases of aura problems such as yours, they were rare… and the result of severe disease. Of which you do not show any symptoms. What you describe could be a semblance, but certainly a unique one… if your story is true, that is." Ozpin steepled his fingers and leant forwards, looking at Jaune over them. "I must ask, Mr Arc, do you have any proof of your claims?"

"Uh… not really. I mean, I could, I guess, jump out the window? But I really don't want to have to repeat this morning. It's… annoying. Uh. Does going from completely sucking in sparring classes to being able to kill a huge Ursa without taking a hit count?"

Ozpin chuckled, leaning back. "Perhaps. I will take you at your word… you don't seem to have anything to gain by deceiving me. But I would like proof as soon as… is reasonable. Although I would insist that you do not go out of your way to provide it by… well…" Ozpin trailed off, clearly uncomfortable finishing that line of thought. "Moving on. If I may ask, Mr Arc, how do you plan on proceeding?" Jaune thought about it, before sighing.

"I… I don't know, sir. I still don't really feel like I belong here, since everyone else is so much better than me. And I guess my semblance kind of makes it seem like I'm… I don't know… cheating, I guess. And I kinda cheated to get here s-" Jaune froze mid-sentence. _Oh no…_ "Uh…"

"Ah, referring to your transcripts?" Ozpin asked, before leaning back genially. Jaune sighed, despondently.

"Yes sir. I-" Jaune paused, the implications having caught up to him. "Wait, what? You… you knew?"

"Knew what, exactly, Mr Arc?" Ozpin leaned forward with an arched eyebrow, but just before Jaune could fumble an excuse, he continued speaking. "Knew that your transcripts were… less than honest?" Jaune looked somewhat relieved that he didn't have to explain it, although he was still clearly nervous.

"Yes, sir. That."

Ozpin smirked. "Of course. You will find that there is very little that goes on in my school that I am _not_ aware of on some level. So when an… obviously _exaggerated_ set of papers passes by my desk, it was clear that perhaps you might not be quite as capable as your papers suggested. And yet…" Ozpin leant back, steaming mug in hand. "And yet. Here you sit."

Jaune was confused, and slightly worried. But more than that, he was curious. As he sat in this clockwork office, looking out over one of the grandest areas in Vale, his only concern was…

"Why?"

"Why what, exactly? Why did I ask you up to my office, or why did I allow you to attend my school despite not having an appropriate background?"

"Uh… both I guess."

Ozpin leant forward again, resting his mug to one side. "The first is the easiest to answer. You have been acting somewhat unusually. Brooding, in some ways, though that could be explained by any number of problems. But rapid advances in capability, and somehow being able to avoid situations at the last minute? It's very strange. I was curious. And it was an excellent opportunity to have a discussion with you. As for the latter…" Ozpin paused to sip his coffee, musing over his answer while Jaune waited, albeit with some degree of fidgeting.

"Mr Arc, my reasons for allowing you into my school may not be the easiest to understand at first glance. I'm aware that you're far from stupid, but a short conversation or even comparison with Miss Schnee will quickly allow you to see you're not the smartest student at Beacon. A contest of brawn with Miss Valkyrie will show you similar results with regards to strength. And you _are_ on a team with Miss Nikos, so I'm sure that you are aware that you are far from the best in attendance." Ozpin paused to sip from his omnipresent mug, while Jaune seemed unsure how to act in response.

"So, Mr Arc, you're not the best student. You're not the smartest, or the strongest, or indeed the most determined or dedicated if these are anything to go by." At that, Ozpin gestured with his hand – and a wry grin on his face – at Jaune's open bag, where the top of a comic could be seen amongst his books.

Jaune laughed nervously. "Heheh. Uh, in my defence sir, it does get quite… uh… boring? F-For the third or fourth time you hear the same lecture I mean." Jaune rubbed his head as he finished, as was his habit. Ozpin quirked an eyebrow, the sly smirk never leaving his features.

"Perhaps the first or second time, where Peter is concerned…" Ozpin murmured under his breath. Jaune looked confused.

"Sorry sir, I didn't hear. Could you, uh, repeat that?"

Ozpin chuckled. "It was nothing. My point _is_ , Mr Arc, that you are not here because you possess characteristics that make you a better _student_. As with Miss Rose, I allowed you to enter because you have heart. You have shown a desire to help others above yourself, and are here not to be better than others for your _own_ sake, but for the sake of people who cannot help themselves. You've demonstrated bravery in the face of adversity, cliché though it may be. Admittedly this is somewhat tempered by your… condition, but I suspect it doesn't exactly stop you from feeling pain."

Jaune grimaced as he remembered some of his previous deaths. None were exactly pleasant, but slowly bleeding out in agony was certainly a bad way to go. Ozpin took his expression for confirmation, and sipped his mug again before continuing.

"You may not be without pride, but you certainly have potential. Not just to be a great huntsman, but a great person. It is for this reason I allowed your… somewhat lacking transcripts through the system." Ozpin peered over his glasses at Jaune. "And there is one more reason. A reason I have very rarely Mr Arc… I have faith." Another sip. "I trust you will repay this."

Jaune, to his credit, seemed quite humbled by these words. He stared off into the distance behind Ozpin's head, as a small flock of birds crossed the sky on the horizon, while he processed this information.

Jaune didn't really know how best to respond, but so far honesty seemed to have worked, so he tried it once more.

"I don't… know if I'm going to be able to do great things, or save a lot of people. Honestly, I'm scared I'll mess up. A lot. But I know one thing. I'm not gonna quit. I don't like making empty promises." Jaune snorted. "An Arc never goes back on his word…" Jaune looked Ozpin in the eye. "But I won't let you down sir." Ozpin smiled.

"I believe you Mr Arc. I believe you. I suppose that puts the matter to rest. But before you go, I do have one last question." At this, Ozpin leaned forwards and peered over steepled fingers, focused on Jaune. "Had I _not_ been aware of the state of your transcripts, and felt disinclined to allow you to continue attending my school… what exactly would you have done?"

Jaune chuckled morbidly. "Well… we're quite high up… and you do have quite big windows…" Ozpin nodded.

"I see. I somewhat expected that, although I had hoped it wouldn't be the case."

"Uh… why, sir? I mean, _it_ hurts sometimes, but falling isn't really painful… definitely not the worst way I've died..." This last part was mumbled while he glanced off to the side.

Ozpin paused before answering.

"Mr Arc, in all the times you have… repeated, I suppose would be an adequate word, to avoid that morbid phrase. Yes. In all of the times you have _repeated_ , you have been the only person to notice, yes?" When Jaune nodded, Ozpin continued. "When you have repeated, you are the only person to notice the change. But, Mr Arc, what if rather than being the only person to notice the repeat, you are instead the only person that repeats." Jaune bemusement was quickly evident.

"I… don't really know what you mean sir."

"What I _mean_ , Mr Arc, is that I'm curious what exactly happens to the people you leave behind. What if, instead of everyone "resetting" as it were, they proceed as normal? Only this time, they lack the pleasure of your company, as it were." Jaune looked nonplussed.

"I-I, uh, I don't know. I mean, how would I know?"

Ozpin sighed forlornly. "Exactly my point, Mr Arc. How can you know, if you can never stay beyond your incidents? How can you be sure that no one has been left behind to deal with what could be seen as – from their point of view at least – your untimely demise? I can think of no feasible way to demonstrate that to everyone else but you, you simply – to put it bluntly – died." Jaune paled. The ramifications of his "condition" were soon becoming clear, as his eyes strayed down to Ozpin's desk.

"Oh no… all those times…" Jaune looked up sharply. "It's not like I want to die! I try not to! I-I mean, I mean… Oh no… my family…" Jaune's gaze returned to the horizon, answers swimming in his head.

"Rest assured, Mr Arc, it is not my intention to upset you, but rather, to help you see the possible consequences of your actions. I understand that there will be times when a repeat may be unavoidable, so do not blame yourself for such. That said, my advice to _you_ would be to avoid unnecessary resets, to prevent undue concern. Avoiding pain would just be a bonus, instead of the main objective." Jaune looked somewhat mollified, though still reeling from the conversation's sharp turn.

"I- thank you sir. I will. I know I'll need help though. I'm still not… good." Jaune looked awkward at his admission, but Ozpin merely smiled. "A-And you're right, I don't want to rely on having to repeat something until I get it right… throwing myself at the problem until I get lucky is a… really bad way to do it. Especially since it's pretty easy to knock me down I guess. Aura and all…" Jaune trailed off, still looking embarrassed at his perceived lack of ability. Ozpin nodded.

"I agree, Mr Arc. We all need a helping hand from time to time. But perhaps branching out to others may help. My advice to you is to seek someone talented in aura manipulation. Who is also, if I do say so myself, a rather talented teacher." Ozpin looked expectantly. Jaune raised his eyebrows.

"Uh, are you offering to train me sir?" He asked.

"Good heavens no. My talents lie elsewhere for the most part, and I am very preoccupied. I was referring to Professor Goodwitch of course… she is one of Beacon's most respected teachers after all."

Jaune shuddered and mumbled "or _feared_ " under his breath, before Ozpin continued.

"That said, I doubt she would approve of the majority of our conversation… particularly regarding your unusual entry to my school. While I can of course overrule her objections, I would prefer not to have to. It would be impolite to say the least, and she does have ways to punish me…" Ozpin trailed off, while his eyes flickered briefly from Jaune to his coffee cup and back. He continued. "She does deserve to know some specifics, namely that you lack proper aura training for… shall we say, personal reasons? Especially since yours seems naturally recalcitrant to say the least."

"Uh, recal-what now?"

"Recalcitrant. Uncooperative. Obstinate. It is, as you have said, difficult to deal with." Ozpin smirked. "I suggest that you spend more time with Miss Schnee… or perhaps Miss Belladonna? I have often found that broadening one's vocabulary tends to broaden the mind as well. And a good leader requires a keen mind, after all."

Jaune nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Glynda – Professor Goodwitch to you – should be able to help with your aura. We will have to explain that your semblance prevents you from coming to… permanent harm, shall we say." Jaune snorted at that. Ozpin ignored the interruption. "But we'll spare her the fine details of how exactly it does so. It wouldn't do to cause undue concern."

"That… that sounds good sir. Will she be OK with it? Teaching me I mean." Jaune looked oddly nervous.

"I'm sure she will be quite fine with it. However, perhaps explanations are best left to myself."

Jaune nodded.

"Right. I-if you're sure sir." He looked up with a glint of determination in his eyes. "Let's do it."

Professor Goodwitch arrived a few minutes after Ozpin's summons, and promptly greeted the pair. Ozpin cleared his throat before speaking.

"Ah, Glynda, I have a favour to ask you, on behalf of both myself and Mr Arc." Looking at Jaune, he continued. "Would you give us a few moments? I will let you know when we are finished." Jaune nodded, and left the office.

As promised, a few minutes later he was called back. When he entered, his gaze met Ozpin's. The headmaster was clutching his mug fiercely, while Glynda glowered gravely at him with equal fervour, which Ozpin pointedly ignored. She sighed, before turning to Jaune, with Ozpin relaxing his rigid posture as she did so. He began to sip his coffee.

"The headmaster has informed me of your situation, Mr Arc. Though I will admit I was reluctant, he has persuaded me to assist you. However, I will have your word that you will be dedicated to our lessons. I won't waste my time if don't intend to take this seriously."

Jaune nodded vigorously at that. "O-of course, Professor." He paused, before his face developed an innocent smile. "I will take it _deadly_ seriously."

Ozpin, who had been in the middle of taking a sip of his coffee, spluttered and choked.

Glynda turned back and glared at Ozpin again, who flinched in the middle of coughing. She raised an eyebrow, and he waved her off. She turned back, and Ozpin sighed in relief, before narrowing his eyes at Jaune. Glynda continued regardless. "If you would accompany me, we can these discuss matters further before you retire for the night."

With that, they made their way down to Glynda's office. Jaune was nervous, although she had already acquiesced to the request. When they arrived, she took her seat behind her desk, and gestured for him to take the chair opposite.

"I am given to understand that your aura is unusual in many regards. Headmaster Ozpin has said that some specifics are personal, and while I am here should you wish to discuss them, I understand if you would prefer not to. He did say, however, that you lack real control over your aura as a result, and require extensive training to correct this." She looked up at him sharply, and he froze. "While it does explain your somewhat… lacklustre performance in my classes, I am disappointed that you did not come forward to me sooner." Jaune grimaced, then sighed, before replying hesitantly.

"I… I know. I'm sorry. You're not the only one either. I haven't really explained it to my team. It's just… all of my family, the Arcs, we've got such a long history of heroes, you know? We've got so many stories of how great and brave and _amazing_ our ancestors were, and then…" Jaune slumped in his seat with a sigh, his voice becoming softer, melancholic. "Then there's just me. And I'm just… not. And I'm terrified I'll let everyone down."

He looked back up with baleful eyes, meeting Glynda's softer gaze. "Before Pyrrha, and Ruby too, helped me realise how stupid I was being, I was convinced that if I didn't do well by my own self, I was letting my family down. I was ashamed. That's why I didn't ask for help before. I-it was stupid and wrong, but it's why."

Glynda was silent for a short while, before speaking gently. "We all need a little push from time to time, Mr Arc, and there's no shame in that. It is no lie to say that Miss Nikos is an exceptional student, possibly one of our best." She paused to push up her glasses. "But be under no illusions, she has had extensive training from her youth. In both aura manipulation and in direct combat, she has been tutored heavily. She would not have come as far as she has by herself. So it would be foolish to hold yourself to an unattainable standard. I am glad to see that you came to this conclusion as well." She smirked. "Perhaps there is something I can work with after all. You will come to me after your lectures are finished, every day for the next few weeks, until a more long-term schedule can be established. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Professor." Jaune stood up. "I won't let you down."

"See that you don't." After shuffling some papers, she continued. "Now get some rest, and don't be late."

"Yes ma'am!"

…

"I mean no ma'am! I-I mean… uh…" He floundered.

Glynda sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"…Just go to bed, Mr Arc."

* * *

 **This is probably my favourite chapter. I love the interplay between them. Jaune felt a bit weak here by way of writing, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.**

 **Unfortunately, I now have nothing complete in reserve, and as Christmas is coming up, I won't be able to post. But there should be something after the new year, if all goes well.**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

Jaune woke up. Sitting upright swiftly, he stared around.

Nora was tangled in her bed sheets, snuffling softly in her sleep, muttering occasionally about sweet treats and happy times. Ren was likewise peaceful, albeit far stiller and quieter. He lay on his back, with only his breathing indicating his being alive. He glanced at Pyrrha last, and relaxed briefly when he saw the faintest of smiles on her dozing face. He soon froze however, as thoughts came to his mind unbidden.

Was this... the next day? Was it the same repetition as before? Would they be going to Forever Fall again?

 _Did I... die?_

He checked his scroll.

The date didn't matter much, since he tended not to pay much attention to those, but the day...

Today was Saturday. Forever fall took place on a Friday.

He'd done it. It was over, and he was free of that hellish looped episode. And it was almost entirely because of Pyrrha.

He smiled.

His partner. His friend.

He looked over to her sleeping visage, and realised he should have known it was a different day from her smile. Every time he'd woken up before, she'd worn a frown on her face.

But not today. Today, they were both free.

And he had a promise to keep.

* * *

"So... you wanna know how I got this scar?" Jaune spoke, breaking the brief silence. He and Pyrrha were on that same, storied rooftop. It seemed appropriate, considering the events of the past few days. From Pyrrha's perspective that is.

They sat with their backs to the walls, legs outstretched, overlooking the same, stunning view of Vale proper. Jaune doubted he would ever get tired of the beautiful sight. The sun shone down, and the distant buildings glittered. Small birds flew, catching insects and chasing each other, at one point forming something which Jaune thought could be seen as writing if he squinted.

Jaune had been unsure how to start, until he'd noticed Pyrrha's anxious, furtive glances at the mark on his neck. So he took a breath and began by spouting the first thing that came into his head.

"Among other things, yes, I suppose. But more..." At this, she paused, and took a breath. "Some of the other things you've said Jaune... they seem... I don't know. Scary, more than anything. You said you've gotten hurt, but then you said you had a semblance that stops you dying, and that honestly scares me even more." Jaune winced at that. Both at her fear for him, endearing as it was, and her wording.

"I didn't." He spoke.

"Didn't what?" Pyrrha's brows furrowed in her confusion. Jaune gave a wry smirk, tinged with regret.

"I didn't say I had a semblance that stops me from dying. I was going to say... that it doesn't." Jaune sighed as Pyrrha's eyes widened. Just before she could speak, he held out a hand gently to forestall her.

"I guess... let me explain what I mean when I say that. Death is this terminal, final thing right? The end? You die, it's over, no more second chances. That's what I thought, at least. But for me... that's not how it works. I've died already. A lot. I've been blown up, impaled, crushed, stabbed, mauled and one time Weiss set me on fire." He snorted. "Guess I deserved that one though, got in the way." He sighed, as Pyrrha looked on speechless. "But every time I've died, I just... woke up the same morning. It's like a bad film, except... real."

They were both quiet for a while longer, until Pyrrha broke it while staring into the distance.

"...that's..." She trailed off.

"Yep." Jaune replied, his eyes not leaving the horizon.

"You're... not kidding are you? You genuinely believe that."

"I wish I was. It kinda sucks sometimes." He paused, as he considered her words. "I didn't think it was even real at first. I mean, it's not like I'd believe it if someone told _me_ that." He sighed. "I don't really have any proof for you, apart from my aura not really working. I can cut myself if you'd like..." Pyrrha gasped.

"No! Don't! I-" She stopped when she saw Jaune's shoulders shaking in mirth. Her eyes narrowed. "You're making fun of me." Jaune gave a wide smile.

"Yeah... sorry. I guess I've kinda developed a morbid sense of humo-" He froze, then gagged. "Eurgh, a bad one anyway. But honestly, I can't prove anything."

"Why not? If it's as you say... it should be easy right?" Pyrrha asked politely, not realising the internal conflict that simple request caused him.

"I... it's not that straightforward. I spoke with Ozpin last night. Sorry you weren't the first one I spoke to by the way. You should have been. You were gonna be I swear, but he just got to me first I guess. I was gonna tell you last night." Jaune paused. "A-anyway. When he spoke to me, he said some things that honestly scared me."

"Like what?"

"Well... he pointed out that I don't really have any proof that when I die, anything changes for anyone else. That I might as well really be dead for everyone _except_ me. Which... scares me. I don't want anyone to go through that." He talked in a faraway voice, real concern bleeding into his speech. Pyrrha was slowly locking and unlocking her hands, before slowly responding.

"I... don't know what to think, Jaune. I want to believe you, but... I've never heard of anything like this. Without proof... it just seems unreasonable. I'm sorry." She spoke with a pinched look, like she really did wish it was the case. To her surprise, he smiled.

"Don't be. Like I said... I wouldn't believe it either." He leaned back against the wall, content somehow, like a weight had been removed. "For now... let's just treat it like my aura's the only problem. Professor Goodwitch is training me in aura control, but if you're still willing... I'd be honoured if you could train me as well." He looked at her hopefully. She smiled.

"Of course Jaune. But... what if you get hurt?"

"Uhhh..." Jaune considered this. "Maybe... we should wait until I've trained my aura a bit..."

Pyrrha let out a light laugh. It was a beautiful sound.

"I think that would be for the best. Now... perhaps some breakfast?"

"Yeah. Let's."

* * *

"Concentrate Mr Arc. You must focus your efforts more-so than others, so you must keep your mind on your task."

"Yes Ma'am." Jaune was inclined to agree with her. He knew he was at a disadvantage, hence their training together. That said, it was a lot harder than she implied though. A tornado of flying objects tended to be distracting.

Jaune had met Professor Goodwitch in the sparring room, as per her request. They were the only ones present, and she'd brought props.

Bean bags. He'd though that they couldn't possibly hurt at first.

He missed the naiveté he'd had then.

And his lack of bruises for that matter.

It had taken Jaune a long time to be able to control his aura. At first it was a glow of the hand, nothing more. Later, an entire limb, and finally his whole self. But it took a significant amount of concentration to keep it up. More than that, it took real effort to do so, and left him physically drained.

They'd quickly realised that for now - instead of trying to present an entire forcefield form, as it were - they would use it in a reactionary manner, in order to practise both finer control, and concentration under duress. Hence the flying bean bags, courtesy of Professor Goodwitch. Normally, they were shot out of a small device, for training dodging. With Goodwitch's assistance, the machine was unnecessary.

He was trying to use his aura as a small shield, to allow him to bat them away. It was useful for his reactions as well, since he would have to rely on them more than anything else. Every time he went to smack one out of the air, he would apply some aura to his hands, to prevent the impacts from being too painful. If they passed, he might desperately flare it across his torso, or if he was especially unlucky, his face.

He wasn't always successful.

"Aargh!" Jaune cried as a bean bag smashed into his cheek, sending him reeling. Professor Goodwitch looked unimpressed, but at least it was better than the disappointed look she'd worn in all of her combat classes.

"Hmm. Well, they do say that failure is the best teacher I suppose. So I would hope you might be learning something." She glanced at his bruises as she spoke, including the massive, ugly one forming on the side of his face.

"Then I'm probably learning a lot, right Professor?" Jaune replied deadpan, before wincing as he poked his cheek. He looked up just in time to see a creasing by the corner of her lips that on anyone else might signal the start of a smile. She soon schooled her face back into her normal, impassive features. Jaune smirked. It seemed she wasn't quite the emotionless task-master everyone assumed her to be. His face broadened into a wider smile at her. Her eyebrows raised slightly, before her eyes narrowed.

She observed her tablet for a moment, before quirking an eyebrow.

"I must say, Mr Arc, if there is one thing I do find impressive about your performance, it's your stamina, namely your aura" She glanced back up to him. "Despite all that I have thrown at it, your aura is still reading around fifty percent, which is quite remarkable."

"Uh, I'll take that as a compliment, Professor." Jaune spoke, glad of some praise. Which immediately dissipated as she continued speaking.

"Don't. It isn't exactly something you have conscious control over. And much like I wouldn't compliment someone who inherited a fortune on their wealth, the abilities a person is born with aren't worthy of praise unless deliberately honed." Jaune visibly deflated. "On that note, I will say that your capacity to take punishment is impressive... particularly in the face, it seems. So if you have to take pride in something, I suppose that will suffice."

Jaune laughed nervously, visibly embarrassed. Being able to take a beating wasn't exactly what he wanted to be remembered for, after all. He rubbed his arm. While he contemplated this, Goodwitch was thoughtfully examining her notes. She looked up at him.

"Mr Arc, correct me if I am wrong, but it seems likely that minor, or even major injuries are quite likely to occur to you, even if you are careful."

"Uh, yeah, that... that sounds about right." She nodded.

"I see. So far, we have simply been focussing on finer aura control, which, while useful, is not going to be able to protect you while under pressure, as you will be far too distracted. Later, we will have to study maintaining a full body coverage, or else you _will_ suffer serious injuries, whether during fights or when combatting the Grimm. It is something that will take practise, but eventually it should become second nature." Jaune nodded in agreement. It made sense after all. Goodwitch continued speaking

"But for now, it seems appropriate to demonstrate how to utilise aura to heal minor ailments, such as they are." With this, she gestured to the purple mess that was his cheek.

"Yes, Professor."

"Then let us begin. As before, I want you to focus on one area. But in this case, focus on the injuries you have taken. Allow your aura to flow over the affected area. Start with your cheek. It is rather eye-catching." Her eyes twinkled with mirth, though she gave no other visible sign. Jaune nodded, and closed his eyes.

A soft white glow quickly settled, highlighting the ugly mauve of his face. And then, much like in the Emerald Forest all that time ago, the bruise faded, leaving nothing behind to show he had suffered anything whatsoever. To Jaune, there was nothing but a minor tingling, and the sudden cessation of his pain. He opened his eyes to see Goodwitch nod approvingly.

"Very good Mr Arc. It seems you have an affinity for self-healing. I'm sure it will be very useful, given your inability to not get hit." He chuckled nervously at the barbed compliment. Regrettably, she was almost certainly correct. "Continue with the rest, and then we shall proceed."

One by one, the bruises faded in the same soft glow as before. At last, when he'd finished with the last of his injuries – in an unmentionable place that set a quirk in Goodwitch's eyebrow – he looked back to her expectantly. She checked her tablet once more, before speaking.

"Now that is out of the way... and since you still have quite the reserve remaining to you, I believe it would be best if we continued for a short while longer. Practise makes perfect, after all." She looked at him expectantly. He grimaced.

"Yes, Professor." He steeled himself, and forced aura into his hands, focussing on controlling its presence. "This is gonna suck," he mumbled under his breath.

To his pleasant surprise, he was finding it far easier to keep up, only missing a small number which even then barely glanced him. But then, after about ten minutes of dodging and punching the bags aside, he made a mistake.

A beanbag slammed into his chest after he missed it by the barest hair's width. It knocked him backwards, stumbling, and as he gasped for breath, he tripped over himself and fell backwards. As he did, the aura slipped from his mental grasp and dissipated, just as he flailed with a hand to catch himself. He fell onto his arm, his wrist taking the full brunt of his weight.

A muted crack sounded out, and Jaune led back, gasping in pain. Goodwitch strode over quickly, tapping at her tablet with haste.

"Mr Arc, that was foolish. This is exactly why you must retain control." She spoke bluntly, but not without some concern. Jaune sucked in breath as he sat up, cradling the injury.

"Yeah, it's broken," he spoke of his arm.

"I hadn't noticed." Goodwitch spoke in a deadpan voice, while still typing into her tablet. "Come, Mr Arc, we are going to the infirmary. It is a simple fix, and you should be back on your usual form in a day."

"Wait."

"Hmm?" Goodwitch looked up, unimpressed at this interruption.

"This is probably going to happen a lot, right? This sort of... stuff." Jaune spoke slowly, carefully. Goodwitch nodded hesitantly.

"Yes. But I fail to see what that has to do with the infirmary, or you lack of presence therein, Mr Arc." She was almost glowering at him.

"Well, if this stuff happens a lot, or it happens when I can't get help from anyone else, I'm going to need to learn how to fix it myself. And, well... what better way to learn... to _practise_ than with proper training, right?" He winced as he jarred his arm. "Plus if it's difficult now, it's gonna be ten times worse out there..."

Goodwitch eyed him with a glare, her mouth puckered. She closed her eyes, and sighed, before focussing back on him. "As much as I wish to disagree – and believe me Mr Arc, I _severely_ disagree with your suggestion – your idea has some merit. I suppose learning how to set a bone is useful, and now would be the best time to learn. Sooner rather than later, it seems." She narrowed her eyes. "This is going to be extremely painful."

Jaune grimaced again. "It always is." Goodwitch quirked an eyebrow, before Jaune hastily continued. "Let's do it."

Jaune sucked in breath through his teeth, and followed her instructions as she guided him through the motions. As he gently pulled down on his wrist to manoeuvre the bones into place, his face paled, and he groaned through gritted teeth. When at last they were in position, he looked up at Professor Goodwitch, who examined his arm gently.

"Very good, it seems as well set as I could expect. Now, as before, let your aura flow through it." Jaune nodded, and closed his eyes.

As his aura surrounded the break, there was an uncomfortable feeling within his arm, like a cross between pins and needles, and insects crawling under his skin. But the pain lessened quickly, and when it was just a dull ache, Jaune opened his eyes to check his arm.

As the faint glow dissipated, his arm looked flawless. Gently, he pressed along the bone. He was glad to find that there was no more pain resonating out, and there didn't seem to be any trace of-

Wait.

He almost grinned at its simplicity.

Right there, on the top of his forearm in line with his thumb, there was a slight bump. He could only just feel it as he ran his fingertips along the bone, but it was there. A token memento as it were.

And a reminder that mistakes had consequences.

Goodwitch examined his arm carefully, before releasing him. She turned back to the room, and with a wave of her crop, the mess from their training began to clear itself. As she managed this, she spoke to him.

"It seems you managed better than I expected, Mr Arc. There would likely not have been much improvement if you had gone to the infirmary. That said, we are _not_ repeating this little experiment." She turned and her eyes snapped back to his as she glowered. "Let this be a lesson to you to not lose concentration. Am I understood?"

Jaune stood to attention. "Y-yes Professor. Thank you."

She nodded sharply. "Indeed. We will continue our lessons at the same time next week. Until such time as I deem it reasonable, you will not be taking part in normal combat classes, as it could prove quite serious." Jaune choked slightly. Goodwitch raised an eyebrow, before continuing. "In the meantime, might I suggest conferring with Mr Ren on meditation? It may help improve your ability to maintain a constant aura. Practise frequently." Jaune nodded in agreement.

"Yes, Professor. That sounds like it could be a good idea. Good night." Jaune began to gather himself and his equipment to leave.

"One last thing, Mr Arc."

Jaune turned back to her.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Well done. And good luck." With that, she departed, leaving Jaune alone.

He could swear to having seen the faintest ghost of a smile on her lips. He grinned, and left to return to his team.

* * *

 **So here it is, fresh from the break. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and hope you enjoyed the sudden _spike_ in drama from RWBY. It really _threw_ a lot of people.**

 **I'm not apologising.**

 **Regarding this chapter... if last chapter was my favourite so far (and it was, I loved writing every bit of the dialogue), this was by far my least favourite. I don't know how you felt, but I didn't enjoy the dialogue at all, and most of it felt stilted. Honestly, I just wanted it out of the way, because there are better things to come.**

 **I may have to have breaks between chapters, but there should only be two or three left, and I have planned most of that out, if not written it entirely.**

 **After that, if I continue, I will almost certainly be skipping the vast majority of Volume 2, since Jaune doesn't really have much meaningful growth, aside from not stalking Weiss, and becoming Lord of the Dance.**

 **In the meantime though... Nora's reaction to Jaune's "Superpower" should be explored.**

* * *

 **OMAKE**

"...so yeah. That's... basically it." Jaune sighed as he explained himself to the remainder of his team. "I just... die and wake up. I know it's not easy to bel-"

He was cut off.

"Pfffffffffft. Is that all? I thought it was something waaaayyy weirder, like you were running off to have an affair with Goodwitch, or were secretly a Grimm!" Nora rolled her eyes as she fell back onto her bed. Jaune's face contorted the most confused expression he could remember having.

"...what?" He glanced at Pyrrha, who looked equally offput. Ren, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. Nora spoke up from where she lay, arms gesticulating wildly.

"Yeah, like that's not even that weird." Jaune's eyebrows did a strange, rapid dance before resting in a quirk.

"It's... not?"

"Nah, I mean, I'm literally a demi-god, and Ren isn't called the Dragon of the East for no reason."

"He's called the Dragon of the East?" Jaune latched on to the only thing that he could understand. Pyrrha just sat there, smile politely frozen on her face.

"I mean yeah, what else would you call someone from the East who could turn into a dragon?"

Jaune just shut down at that point. He had absolutely no idea how to proceed, but his brain seemed to be on autopilot.

"Does he?"

"Well obviously, or he wouldn't be called the Dragon of the East."

"Oh. That makes sense..." Jaune spoke in a daze, not really taking in what she was actually saying. Ren sighed.

"Tautology aside, she is in fact telling the truth. It is a... family trait, that... skipped a generation." Ren looked almost wistful for a moment. Sad, even. Jaune snapped back to reality.

"Wait, you're literally a dragon?"

* * *

Later, when Jaune found himself in the Emerald Forest face to face with a colossal, green dragon with pink features, Jaune had but one thing to say.

"Oh my god, you're literally a dragon."

It shuddered, before its form promptly morphed back into one Lie Ren, who took a deep breath, before opening his eyes.

"Yes. Thank you for allowing me to share this with you both. I felt that since you shared your difficulties, the least I could do was share mine."

"Uh... no problem?" Jaune replied, as Pyrrha nodded emphatically.

"Yes, thank you for trusting us!" She spoke, quickly and not without a touch of mild panic.

Jaune nodded as well, before frowning and turning to Nora.

"Wait... didn't you say you were a demi-god?" Nora flashed a grin, and began cackling, slowly drawing out Magnhild.

As this shifted into maniacal laughter, Jaune noticed a storm cloud beginning to form above, where previously there had been nothing but a clear blue sky. Ren gently pulled both Jaune and Pyrrha a few paces backward.

He was just in time, as a bolt of lightning lanced through the air towards her. The flash was blinding, and as the afterimage began to fade from Jaune's eyes, he could see a ring of burnt grass around Nora.

But the biggest change was to Nora herself. As her laughter began to trail off, Jaune could see her outfit had changed, into a sturdy armour of bright silver overlapping scales on her arms, and gleaming steel plate on her body, while thick leather flaps formed a skirt.

There was a scary gleam to her eyes, but Jaune's were drawn to Nora's hammer. It shone, catching a sun that wasn't visible through the thick cloud above. Flickers of electricity danced across its surface. Nora rested it gently on the ground, but there was still a loud thud, belying its hugely increased weight. She spoke.

"Now... let's go kill some Grimm."

Pyrrha whimpered, and the only thing stopping Jaune from fleeing was his acceptance of death a long time ago. He sighed.

This was going to be a long day.


	13. Chapter 13

"...so yeah. That's... basically it." Jaune sighed as he explained himself to the remainder of his team. "I just... die and wake up. I know it's not easy to bel-"

He was cut off.

"Pfffffffffft. Is that all? I thought it was something waaaayyy weirder, like you were hatched from an egg, or were secretly related to Professor Goodwitch!" Nora rolled her eyes as she fell back onto her bed. Jaune's face contorted the most confused expression he could remember having.

"...what?" He glanced at Pyrrha, who looked equally offput. Ren, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. Nora spoke up from where she lay, arms gesticulating wildly.

"Yeah, like that's not even that weird." Jaune's eyebrows did a strange, rapid dance before resting in a quirk.

"It's... not?"

"Nah, I mean, I'm literally a demi-god, and Ren isn't called the Dragon of the East for no reason."

"He's called the Dragon of the East?" Jaune latched on to the only thing that he could understand. Pyrrha sat with a horrified expression on her face, before attempting to calm herself down.

"I mean yeah, what else would you call someone from the East who could turn into a dragon?"

Jaune just shut down at that point. He had absolutely no idea how to proceed, but his brain seemed to be on autopilot.

"Does he?"

"Well obviously, or he wouldn't be called the Dragon of the East."

"Oh. That makes sense..." Jaune spoke in a daze, not really taking in what she was actually saying. Ren sighed, before turning to Nora.

"Nora, please stop trying to convince our friends that I am a dragon. Jaune has just trusted us with some personal information, and confusing them is less than helpful." He turned back to Jaune and to Pyrrha, before continuing to speak. "I can assure you she is not telling the truth."

Pyrrha looked physically relieved, and quickly flashed a smile at Ren in gratitude. He nodded once in return.

"Speaking of the truth however..." Ren paused, with a contemplative look. "Jaune... your words _are_ difficult to believe. I have never heard of such a thing before. It is not that I believe you are lying, but..." Ren trailed off, struggling to find the words. Jaune gave a friendly smile at his teammate.

"Don't worry, I understand. I haven't got any proof, and like I told Pyrrha, I wouldn't believe it either." He sighed. "But that's not really the important bit. Well, to me it is... but to you, I guess it shouldn't really matter." He paused, and looked up, glancing between Ren and Nora, and once, briefly to Pyrrha. She gave him an encouraging smile. He returned it, and continued. "What _matters_ is that I can't use aura properly. I don't have this... _forcefield_ like you guys do. Not without serious effort anyway. So basically, if something hits me, I get hurt. If something hits me hard... I get hurt bad."

Ren's brow furrowed at that, but he remained silent for a moment. He looked at Pyrrha, who spoke up.

"I don't know much about his supposed death, and to be honest, I don't want to know. I certainly never want to test it." She paused, and sighed. "But as far as his aura goes... I have seen it first-hand. You have my word." Ren nodded, before looking down at the floor in thoughtful silence. Nora, for her part, was uncharacteristically quiet, and stared intently at Jaune, who was becoming increasingly unnerved by her unblinking gaze.

Slowly, she got up and walked towards him, still meeting his eyes. She leaned in, and - as Jaune glanced nervously to Pyrrha, who looked on in confusion - she suddenly flicked him on the arm.

Rather hard.

"Ow, hey!" Jaune snapped, flinching back from what was actually quite the impact, having the full brunt of her aura behind it. Jaune check his arm, and a red mark was there, signifying the start of a bruise forming. He glared back at Nora, who leaned back and seemed thoughtful. She held a finger up in the air, as if an idea had suddenly come to her.

"Ren! I think he's broken!" Nora proclaimed, loudly. Ren sighed, while Jaune just buried his face in his hands.

"Wasn't there a less painful, or _annoying_ way you could do that?" Jaune groaned. Ren gave a slight smile at that.

"Almost certainly."

"Well what would be the point of that? Now we _know_ you're telling the truth!" Nora exclaimed, to Jaune's begrudging agreement. Which promptly vanished as she continued. "But how did this happen?! Were you kidnapped as a child, and forced to undergo some strange mutation? Did you get bitten by a non-venomous spider? OH! I know! Did you sacrifice your soul for your one true love?!"

Pyrrha choked, loudly, as Jaune recoiled, bewildered.

"What? No! No, nothing like that! I don't know why it doesn't work, it just doesn't!" Jaune sighed. "I had two reasons for telling you two. I...I thought you deserved to know. You're put so much trust in me, it just felt wrong to not tell you everything."

"You have yet to truly disappoint us, Jaune." Ren spoke simply, but gladly. Nora beamed.

"Aye aye! Also, this makes you even MORE fearless, fearless leader! Charging into combat without aura?! That's what a REAL leader should be!" Nora pumped a fist in the air, while Jaune swallowed. Pyrrha quickly cut in.

"Yes, but although we _do_ admire your bravery, we would _prefer-_ " Pyrrha spoke as she cut across her neck with her hand in Jaune's direction, clearly conveying her opposition to any suicidal charges,"-it if you had some protection, right _Ren_?" She concluded while glaring at the final member of JNPR, who smiled weakly.

"I agree." He looked back to Jaune. "That was one reason. What was the second?"

Jaune looked almost guilty, before he replied.

"I... I need your help. Pyrrha and Professor Goodwitch have been awesome, and they're helping me train, but I need more. I've seen how well you control your aura, and, well... I-I know it's selfish of me, but-" Jaune stopped as Ren calmly held up a hand.

"It would be selfish to not allow us to assist you. Asking for help is not selfish Jaune. When it affects all of us, it is quite the opposite. But I must ask, why do you want it?"

"Uh... because you're really good with aura?" Jaune looked nonplussed. Was Ren being humble?

"I meant why do you wish to learn control? What is it that you want from what I can teach?"

Oh.

That was a different question entirely.

"I... I want to be better. I want to be stronger. But mostly... I just don't want to hold anyone back. I don't want to be the guy who needs to be rescued, or doesn't _do_ anything. I want to help people, and I want to do that by being the best hunter I can, like all of my family before me." He hung his head. "I don't want to let anyone down."

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see a pair of pink eyes meeting his own. Beneath them, a simple, friendly smile.

"You won't. Thank you for being honest with us." He looked over to Nora, who was beaming at them both. "I would be happy to teach you what I can." Jaune's eyes widened slightly, before a grin made its way onto his face.

"Thanks, Ren."

"You're wel-"

"You're WELCOME!" Nora interjected loudly, standing and pointing at him, posing in triumph.

Jaune blinked, before looking at Ren.

Ren just rolled his eyes, and gave a tired, but happy smile.

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a glance, before they burst into laughter.

* * *

It was about a week later - after a tiring-but-productive week for Jaune - that JNPR found themselves in their dormitory in a tense silence.

Jaune's training had been progressing slowly, but surely, and better than he'd expected for only a week's worth of sessions. Ren had been true to his word, and had counselled him in controlling his aura. He could now maintain a full-body coverage for about a minute, without distractions. With distractions...

At least he was improving his ability to heal bruises quickly, often on the fly. But not sufficiently to take part in more active forms of combat. However, Pyrrha had come up with a way for them to train, which fortunately put him in no danger of death.

Which wasn't to say it wasn't painful, just that he wouldn't die.

Professor Goodwitch had also continued tutoring him, with some small but noticeable gains there as well. Once, she'd almost complimented him. Almost.

With all this in mind, Jaune wouldn't have hesitated to say that things were going well for him and his team.

Which then led to today.

JNPR sat uneasily on their beds, seeming anxious and tense. No-one tried to broach the silence, not even Nora. Instead she'd opted to sit on her bed with her headphones on, trying to read a comic Jaune had lent her. Jaune himself was actually trying to study for once, while Pyrrha and Ren were also sat on their beds; the former fiddling with Miló, and the latter attempting to meditate peacefully. He was failing however, and his face was taught, feeling the anxiety much like the rest of his team.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!"

Weiss' shout filtered through to their room, and Pyrrha almost lost a miniscule screw as she flinched, before sighing and tightening everything back up. No work would be done tonight.

"That _is_ the problem!" Blake's voice could also be heard. Ren sighed, and gave up on his meditation. JNPR cast furtive glances between each other, but remained in the same, painful silence they had for most of the evening, since RWBY had returned from Vale proper, with Weiss and Blake continuing the same argument the entire time, with little pause. Nora pulled off her headphones and broached the fugue.

"Weiss... didn't really have the most... _open-minded_ upbringing, did she?"

"It seems not. But it sounds like it is far from her fault." Ren spoke quietly.

"No, it isn't." Pyrrha added. "But Blake is not exactly approaching this objectively either."

Jaune sighed. "No, she's way too angry for it to work. Weiss is just gonna get defens-"

"I'm a VICTIM!" Weiss shouted, loud enough for them to hear clearly. Jaune winced.

"-defensive." Pyrrha sighed, nodding in agreement. For a short while, it was far quieter, until a thump was heard. The team tensed, but it hadn't sounded like a punch, rather someone hitting something wooden, probably in frustration. Weiss shrill shout once again shattered the silence.

"-liars, thieves and murderers!"

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!"

Blake's proclamation seemed even louder, and the silence that followed was almost deafening, punctuated by the sound of a door being slammed open in haste. JNPR looked intently at their own door, just as Ruby herself could be heard far more clearly than even Weiss before.

"Blake, wait! Come back!"

She sounded desperate, and almost distraught. Jaune could understand why.

"Does that mean what I... think it means?" Nora asked in a strained voice.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha, whose wide eyes reflected the surprise on his own face.

"I... I guess it does." He replied sadly. He slouched in his chair, feeling drained.

"I hope they'll be OK."

* * *

 **Are we doing the Stray?**

 **Damn stray-ght.**

 **Maybe things aren't quite so Black and White after all.**

 **...I'm not apologising.**

 **Again, not overly enthusiastic about the dialogue, but it was a necessary evil. And I could resist adding a small part of last chapter's omake, since it just seemed such a nice way to kick things off. I hope you enjoyed reading, and things will get a little more interesting next time, I hope. It might not be out next week, since I haven't written any of it, but as it's all planned it shouldn't take me more than... six months?**

 **Maybe.**

 **Training montage!**

* * *

Jaune was on that same historic roof, waiting for Pyrrha expectantly. They hadn't been able to do any sparring as of yet, due to Pyrrha's obvious reluctance to hurt him with their real weapons. But she'd said they might be able to tonight, so Jaune was here, with nervous excitement, waiting to see what would happen. He looked around as he heard the door open.

Pyrrha stepped out, carrying something draped in a large cloth. Her eyes were gleaming in the light of the shattered moon, and a bright smile was on her face. He smiled in return as he greeted her.

"Hey Pyrrha!"

"Hello again!" She spoke happily. "I have something that may help us with your problem, at least as far as training goes." Jaune's curiosity was piqued.

"Oh? That sounds cool, what is it?"

Pyrrha grinned, as she unveiled...

A pair of wooden swords. Jaune's brows furrowed.

"Uh... wooden swords?"

Pyrrha laughed. "Yes, Jaune. They're also weighted, so they'll feel quite heavy enough, I promise." She proffered one to him. It looked very similar to his own blade, but Jaune still felt sceptical.

"Will we actually be able to use these?" He asked, as he took the sword.

"Oh, yes." Pyrrha replied, a devilish grin on her own face, which made Jaune suddenly nervous. "You will certainly be able to learn a lot." As she spoke, she twirled her own weapon, before getting into a low stance.

Jaune gulped.

"I yield!"

As he lay back on the roof, sword point at his throat, Jaune groaned.

It was like those bean bags all over again. Seemingly innocent, but oh _so_ painful.

"Well done Jaune, you're certainly improving! Just keep an eye on your footwork, and remember to keep your shield up. Let's go again" She smiled as she held out a hand to pull him up, which he begrudgingly took. As he dusted himself off, he gave a weak smile.

"Thanks." He paused. "Uh, Pyrrha... you're not still... angry about before, are you?" He asked nervously.

"Why Jaune..." Pyrrha spoke, as she readied her weapon, with a wicked gleam in her eye.

"Whatever gave you _that_ idea?"


	14. Chapter 14

Jaune woke up.

It was accompanied by a weary sigh, as he stared up at the darkened ceiling. Then another as he got up and walked slowly to the bathroom.

As he looked into the mirror, he took note of the bags under his eyes, heavy and purple.

He knuckled the corners to try and rub the sleep out, in an effort to wake himself up.

It didn't really work.

He took a shower, dried and dressed himself, and went back into the main room, only to find Pyrrha sat up in bed waiting. Normally, he'd expect this, but normally he wasn't awake at half past five in the morning on a Sunday, after a very sleepless night. She gave him a tired smile as he met her eyes, which he weakly returned, before breaking the silence with a whisper.

"I guess we're both anxious, huh?" Her smile faded, and she nodded her assent with an expression that seemed infinitely wearier than her usual self.

"Yes. Sleep... was difficult." She sighed. "It is hard to not let your thoughts wander too much." Jaune snorted.

"I know the feeling."

He looked over at the sleeping forms of his teammates, lying in bed still. Ren seemed like his usual self, sleeping soundly. But Jaune had learned that it was the subtler things that mattered with his friend, and the slightest tightness around his eyebrow gave away his less-than-peaceful rest.

Nora was twitching slightly, drooling on her pillow. She at least seemed to be sleeping well, but Jaune knew that she was also worried. Again, he'd realised that she would put out a cheerful demeanour even if she was upset.

Despite that, the sight of her drooling like a child brought a smile to his face, tired though it might have been. He looked back to Pyrrha.

"Wanna get some breakfast? For us, then for them." Pyrrha gave him a real smile this time.

"That would be lovely. Give me five minutes."

Ten minutes later, they were in the dining hall. It was mostly devoid of life, save for the cooks, who churned out ludicrous quantities of food with incredible precision. Jaune had to commend them, it took a lot of talent to keep up with the vast quantities of food huntsmen, huntresses and hunters in training, something they managed every single day. Jaune shuddered to think of the cost that went into their food alone.

Still, the hall was fairly quiet, which he'd expected at this time. Most teams wouldn't want to be up at this hour.

Most that is, except for half of his own.

And the remainder of team RWBY.

Jaune met Pyrrha's glance, and nodded. They quickly grabbed some food, cereal and fruit mostly, before joining them.

They all looked exhausted to some degree, with Ruby chewing her food as if on autopilot. Yang was gazing out of the window, the skin under her eyes a darker hue than her irises, her toast half eaten.

Weiss expression was worrying however.

As a cup of untouched coffee cooled next to her clasped hands, her gaze was locked onto the table in front of her, and she seemed deep in thought. Her face was taught, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips partially pursed. There was some anger there, but in her eyes...

Jaune would swear he saw a hint of fear.

He and Pyrrha sat down next to them, making Weiss flinch as she was startled out of her fixation; normally she was far more collected than this. Yang shook her head and look over to them, raising a hand in weary greeting. Ruby herself just looked to them and smiled.

"Morning guys." She spoke in a quiet tone, her usual exuberance just not quite there.

Yang grunted in friendly greeting, and Weiss echoed Ruby with a polite "good morning," of her own. Jaune's smile faded.

"It doesn't look like you guys got much sleep either, huh?"

Ruby's face fell, while Yang sighed and Weiss momentarily clenched her jaw.

"No... no we didn't." Ruby replied. "We're worried, Jaune. We don't know where she is, or what she's doing. Only that she's not here, with us." Weiss snorted.

"Or who she could be talking to." Jaune winced slightly. He'd expected something like this. Ruby and Yang were worried about their friend, but for Weiss, this could be far more sinister. Yang sighed.

"Weiss, we don't know that she's still..." Yang trailed off. Weiss eyes narrowed.

"What, White Fang?"

"Yes, exactly. We can't just assume she's part of all the terrible things they've done."

"We can't just assume she isn't, either." Weiss scoffed. Yang looked forlorn, and Ruby interjected.

"You're right, we can't. But until we have proof, we owe it to Blake to get our answers from her directly. She's our teammate, our friend, and I want to believe that the last term hasn't been nothing but lies." Ruby looked between the two, Weiss looking both mollified and even a touch guilty, as Yang nodded in agreement. "So for now, we'll keep looking."

The rest of the breakfast continued in silence, until RWBY said their goodbyes in order to catch the first Bullhead to Vale proper. Though they could walk, it would be a lot of effort, which might be useful later on.

Jaune and Pyrrha also finished up, before heading to the breakfast bar to grab some food for their teammates. Jaune caught Pyrrha's eye, smirking, as he loaded a tray with pancakes and syrup. She laughed lightly.

"That's bound to cheer her up." Jaune grinned wider, and they made their way back to their dorm room.

Jaune opened the door, and laughed as Nora sat bolt upright as soon as the smell hit.

"PANCAKES!" She shouted, loud enough that Ren was startled awake.

He groaned, before looking over to his leader. He smiled in gratitude at the easy food.

* * *

The day was far from productive. None of them could easily focus, so instead they decided to just enjoy their Sunday as well as they could. Jaune and Pyrrha did manage to get some sparring in however, so it wasn't a total waste.

It was much later in the evening when they found themselves back in the dormitory room, having just come back from the roof, slightly sticky from sweat. Ren was calmly reading a book as Nora narrated a business venture to him, a slight quirk of his lips the only sign that he was paying attention.

They were chatting aimlessly, while Jaune slowly took off his armour, when Jaune's scroll rang loudly. He looked at the screen, and flicked answer when he saw Yang's cheesy grin smiling back at him.

"Hey Yang, what's up? Did you find Blake?" He asked gently.

"H-hey V-Vomit boy. Y-yeah... yeah we did." She sounded shaky, unsure.

She sounded devastated. Jaune's eyebrows furrowed in worry

"Yang, are you okay? What's happened?!" Jaune asked quickly, frantic for the answer.

"I-I'm OK Jaune. We're a-at the docks, a-and Blake's here. B-but Ruby... she..."

Yang broke down over the scroll, but Pyrrha and the rest of JNPR couldn't hear what was being said.

They could only see Jaune's reaction.

The scroll slipped out of his hand as Yang's wailing sounded out from it. His eyes widened, then became unfocused. Pyrrha looked horrified.

"Jaune? What's wrong?" When he didn't answer immediately, she grew more frantic. "Jaune!"

He lifted up his hand, paused, and then removed the last piece of his armour, from his chest. It fell to the floor with a muted thump, landing next to the scroll.

"I need to go clear my head. I'll be back in a bit." He spoke in a dull, faraway voice.

With that, he walked out of the door and down the corridor. Pyrrha jumped up and leant out of their room, just in time to see him walk back the way they came from sparring on the roof.

She rushed back to the scroll, picking it up as her team looked on in concern. She turned on the speaker as Weiss' voice sounded out, with Yang's muffled sobs permeating the background, and the occasional siren sounding out.

"-ello? Hello, can you hear me?" Pyrrha swallowed before replying.

"Yes, Weiss, we can hear you. What's happened? Jaune just left without saying anything..."

"Dammit!" Weiss swore. "That _idiot_." She sighed, clearly not relishing explaining whatever had occurred.

"Weiss?" Pyrrha asked. The girl sighed again, before finally replying.

"There was a fight at the docks, between the White Fang and us. Things were fine, until Ruby got hit by Torchwick." Emotion crept into her voice slowly. "W-when we rushed over to her, he got away. But we-" She choked back a sob. "We couldn't _wake her up_. She had no pulse, no breathing, w-we couldn't _do_ anything! I-I-"

Weiss was openly crying through the scroll.

"Ruby's _dead_! I-I don't know what to do!" She took a deep breath, and tried to speak more calmly. "We'll be OK here, Blake is with Yang. Just don't let Jaune do anything stupid, like pick a fight with a wall."

Pyrrha froze.

"Oh no."

* * *

At the docks, Weiss brow furrowed in confusion. Pyrrha had seemingly run off, leaving the scroll silent. Her mascara had run from her tears, although she couldn't bring herself to care. To one side, Yang knelt down near one of the crates, as Blake held her close, letting her sob quietly into her shoulder. The monkey faunus looked on awkwardly, and forlornly. She sighed, realising she'd been very wrong about him.

She looked back to where the flashing lights were coming from, just in time to see a stretcher covered by a sheet being loaded into the back of the ambulance.

The sound of droplets hitting the floor could be heard, after having run down her pale cheeks.

* * *

Pyrrha burst through the door onto the roof.

On any other night, the sight that greeted her would have brought a flush to her face.

Jaune stood near the edge, gazing out over to Vale. He was framed perfectly by the fractured moon shining across the town proper, Crocea Mors placed gently on the floor next to him, along with his belt.

"Jaune! Please, stop!" She cried out, desperately. He turned his head slightly.

"Hey Pyrrha. It's a beautiful night." He sounded almost wistful. He sighed, before continuing.

"I need to make sure Ruby can see it." Pyrrha choked, taking a step forward.

"Jaune, please, don't do this! It won't bring her back!"

Jaune's brow furrowed.

"Yes it will. It will bring her back." He spoke with such conviction that she could almost believe him. Almost.

"Jaune..." Pyrrha whispered. He swallowed. "I'm sorry Pyrrha, I don't know what will happen next. But I couldn't live with knowing I could have saved her and chose not to. I'll see you tomorrow."

Jaune turned back to the moon, and stepped forward, off the edge, with no hesitation.

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha screamed, horrified.

She desperately threw out her arm, trying to use her semblance to latch on to something, anything.

But there was nothing. His armour was in their room, his sword on the rooftop, and barely a shred of metal on his person. There was nothing for her to use.

She was left there, arm outstretched, able to do nothing as she watched Jaune disappear from view.

There was no slowing of time, no last minute reaction like in the films.

He was in sight one moment, and gone the next.

She sank to her knees.

* * *

Jaune woke up.

He stared up at the darkened ceiling and sighed. Then he got up and walked slowly to the bathroom.

* * *

 **Well then...**

 **Looks like there's going to be some involvement in the Stray arc after all. Sorry if that's not your thing, but it was too good of an opportunity not to use.**

 **The next chapter should be the last one, although like I said, I may do some more based on volumes 2 and 3, but they will not be long. They'll probably only focus on one or two moments. One of which I'm sure you can guess.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the ending of Volume 5. I found it a little lacklustre, but not bad by any means.**

 **I actually plan on making a video explaining why I love RWBY, so if I do, please check it out!**

 **Thanks**


	15. Chapter 15

"Nobody move!"

Blake held Torchwick at sword-point.

With that same moon overhead, the light gleaming from its shattered pieces, the scene looked almost poetic. The docks were bathed in shadows, the light dancing through the shipping containers leaving stark, jagged shadows that were both a hindrance and a help to her, despite her ability to see into them.

She stood in the centre of a crescent of White Fang, blade held against Torchwick's neck. The small group may have been hovering uncertainly for know, but Jaune knew that wouldn't last. Sun was above, staring down from the top of a stack of crates, having followed Blake after she leapt down. Jaune knew from experience that things were about to go horribly wrong, and that unless he stepped in, they wouldn't all make it out alive.

This wasn't the first time Jaune had come across this scene after all.

The first time he'd been in this position, he'd heard from afar as Blake and Sun had been killed by the Fang, after he'd tried to keep Ruby away from the docks. It took every ounce of self-control and sheer bloody-minded will power to impale himself, in order to save them.

He might not have been as close to Blake, and especially Sun, as he was to Ruby, but he'd be damned if he let even one of their lives go to waste when he could do something about it. He tried repeatedly to get them out alive, but it had never worked yet. This time, though, would be the time. He'd made sure that everything that could go right, would.

"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this _scum_?"

Blake spoke right on time. She always gave them a chance and thus far, it had never gone well. He'd even begged her not to go to the docks. But she refused to listen, so determined to right the wrongs of her past. Jaune could almost admire it, if he hadn't had to watch the consequences first hand.

He drew Crocea Mors with a grim expression and, shield in hand, he strode forward.

Even with all of the training he'd managed to achieve in such a short time - short for everyone else at least - he was still woefully underprepared. All he could rely on was his aura pool, and the certainty that, should he fail, he would keep moving forwards, until the day he no longer woke up.

Onward he went, towards the massive fight that was still ongoing. He knew Ruby and Penny were coming, so he just needed to delay the group for a while, and bumble along until they arrived. If he could distract the White Fang while Sun and Blake fought Torchwick, he could be sure they'd all survive.

Sword in hand, he started jogging towards the clustered men from behind Blake. As Torchwick's cane blasted her away, and their fight began in earnest, Jaune started sprinting. Sun took on a small group with ease, but any more while he and Blake fought Torchwick, and they would die, simply from the distraction at a critical moment. Either way, this... this was going to hurt.

A war cry tore from his lips as he crashed into the back of the group of White Fang that tried flanking the pair. With aura in his shield and legs, he tore through them like a cannon ball through so much paper. But that wouldn't last, and he wasn't skilled enough to react to every new attack. At least, not as he would if fighting in front of Goodwitch.

But this wasn't Beacon, and anything goes in a fight to the death.

 _A burst of shots rang out from the grunts. He hadn't anticipated this, and they tore through him in the same way as he'd crashed through them._

He hefted his shield to deflect a burst of bullets as he slammed the pommel of his sword into the face of the nearest member.

 _A grunt's slice caught him off guard, cutting into his leg and making him collapse before the rest quickly finished him off, not even having the chance to try and heal himself._

Sweeping down with Crocea Mors to parry a slash at his exposed legs, he kicked the knee of the faunus who attacked him. The grunt locked up and over-extended, and Jaune bashed him in the face with his shield.

 _A slash caught him in the back of the head and he fell, lifeless, into a slowly growing pool of his own viscera._

He ducked under a slash and kicked out with his left foot to catch the grunt, before swinging Crocea Mors into their knee. From behind he heard a gun cock and brought his shield to bear, while charging towards it.

 _Shots caught him in the legs and he stumbled, and fell under a rain of bullets._

Jaune forced aura into his legs to protect them. He winced as shots landed, stinging like a swarm of bees, but nowhere near enough to break him.

He bashed the gunman in the chest with his shield, then _took a sword to the neck_ dodged a sword stroke, before returning a vicious slash to their face, causing them to stagger back clutching a painful, albeit superficial wound.

Only five remained of the eight he'd charged. But he was almost surrounded, and they weren't done yet.

 _This time_ he parried the opening cut before returning one in kind that slashed the faunus from sternum to shoulder, scraping along their ribs. It wasn't deep enough to kill outright though, and they sprawled backwards with a scream.

 _This time_ he bashed aside a clumsy thrust and smashed the attacker with the pommel so hard that their nose crumpled and they fell back, reeling from the devastating blow.

 _This time_ his shield caught the bullets fired at him, before he threw Crocea Mors at the final gunman of the group, shattering the gun and deeply cutting their hands. He brutally kicked the knee of the grunt behind him, so hard that it bent the other way. Jumping over their moaning body, _this time_ he spared a few seconds to kick the nearby gun away from the fallen member.

 _This time_ he flared his aura across his back, and shattered a poorly-made machete as he gritted his teeth from the painful blow.

 _This time_ , he caught the final member's wrist as they tried to use the handle of the machete to brain him, before leaning back and using aura to kick them so hard that they flew into the gunman. Both smashed into a cargo crate so hard that they left an imprint.

Fighting cleanly wasn't on the table, but brutality and sheer bloody-mindedness? _That_ he could use.

Walking up to the pair who lay sprawled in front of the dented crate. One, the grunt he'd kicked, was out cold. The other tried getting up until Jaune grabbed his hair and smashed him in the face with his knee, cracking his head against the crate again.

He stayed down after that.

Jaune retrieved his sword. He hated having to throw it, but without doing so he couldn't fight off the final members effectively since the gunman kept shooting at him.

Grimacing, he sheathed it, and looked as he saw Ruby appear at the top of the building. He gave a grim smile, as he knew they'd make it, since Ruby had Penny in tow. That girl was scary. At first, he'd tried so hard to keep her away, since she looked so very fragile.

A small, curly haired ginger girl in a simple dress, with no weapons on hand, and a mannerism that didn't exactly _scream_ fighter? Of course he wasn't going to believe she'd be anything but a distraction, one more person he had to save.

Once more person he had to die for.

But this wasn't his first time at the rodeo, as one of the villagers back home used to say. It had been sheer chance that he'd seen her in action, on one of his most recent repeats.

* * *

 _Hurrying desperately, Jaune raced through the town desperate to intercept Ruby, Weiss and Yang before they met Penny. If he didn't, they'd meet and Penny would be dragged into their mess. It was only this bad because he was late to meet them at the bullheads this morning. Not that they'd agreed to go together, but because he needed to beat them there and offer to help. If he didn't, then he wouldn't be able to help Blake, and this repeat would be wasted._

 _So here he was, in Vale, with no idea how to find them. He raced around some surprisingly quiet seats until... there._

 _Right in front of him, the trio, about to bump into Penny again. He was so close._

 _Until a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Looking round, he saw a man, about his height. Plain in the face, with nothing unusual there. Black trousers, white shirt and a charcoal waistcoat seemed normal enough, and even a long black coat that fluttered gently around his knees didn't appear out of place. But across the waistcoat lay a harness for the two swords protruding from his back, seemingly impractical as they were, and he had guns at his hips... these marked him apart from civilians._

 _This was a hunter._

 _He spoke first, gently. "You don't need to rush everywhere. It will do you no good." Jaune was irritated. He'd been stopped for this? He glanced past to see the three remaining members of team RWBY calling out for Blake, as they had been before. Soon Penny would come across them, and he could see no easy way to stop her from getting hurt. He needed to get there, and quickly._

 _"But my friends need me! That girl will get hurt if I don't help!" Jaune blurted. The man simply looked him in the eye._

 _"You're overstating your part. They can handle themselves." Jaune was exasperated._

 _"No they can't! I have to help them!" The man's gaze never faltered._

 _"Wait and see. You can't make judgements without knowing what will happen."_

 _"But I do know!" Jaune was nearly panicking now. The man raised an eyebrow._

 _"No, you don't. You've never seen her fight, and you've never let them go this far. So, for now, let them make their own mistakes." He patted his shoulder. "Good luck, Jaune."_

 _With that, he released Jaune, and brushed past him to walk away. Jaune stood there, confusion freezing him in place for a few precious seconds, before his eyes widened. He spun, shouting as he did so._

 _"Wait!"_

 _But the man was gone. The street was empty, save for a person in jeans and a t-shirt, who was leaning against a wall and failing to light a cigarette. They glanced up at Jaune, before looking back down to return to their attempts. Jaune sighed._

 _"How did you even know my name?" He whispered to himself._

 _Jaune walked away, in the direction of the trio. It was too late to stop them meeting Penny, but maybe..._

 _Maybe this was the boost he needed._

* * *

Watching the show, Jaune leaned back, content to wait.

It was every bit as awesome and destructive as he could have hoped.

Pieces of broken aircraft flew overhead, carried by sheer momentum. The loud crash as the wreckage hit the ground could probably be heard at Beacon itself. Explosions from dust containers echoed across the water, although there was surprisingly few of them, considering the sheer volume of Dust the area must have contained. Jaune assumed that the containers had some protection, given the volatile nature of Dust.

But his eyes widened as he realised Torchwick planned one last, vindictive strike. Raising his cane, the ginger man aimed at Blake and Sun, whose auras were so low that even a single blow might finish them. Jaune launched himself towards them as fast as he could. They weren't paying attention to the danger they were in, clearly in awe of Penny.

Just as Jaune reached them, Torchwick fired. Jaune threw himself in the way to the astonishment of both students, and Blake in particular. Shield in front, he flared his aura hoping to stop any damage.

It wasn't enough to stop the blast from launching him backwards, smashing him into yet another crate. He bounced off and sprawled forwards as Torchwick made his escape, his plane ferrying him away from the carnage.

Ruby, Blake and Sun ran towards Jaune's smoking visage, worried that he was seriously hurt from the explosion. Ruby and Blake in particular were more than a little scared, since they knew at least a little of his aura problems; having to explain why he'd been skipping combat class had been less than fun.

Only Jaune's quiet groans indicating he still lived, much to the relief of the trio. Penny was behind, but did not seem as concerned, though she looked on regardless.

By now, Torchwick was long gone. The devastation around them was a testament to the fight's destructive power, most notably from Penny. Crates were spilling their contents all around, and a crane lay crushed to one side. Dust from one crate was scattered across the ground, while a stray bear for a child lay to one side, forlornly gazing over the shimmering water of Vale's bay. The air away from the docks was silent, but began to be broken by sirens in the distance.

Still groaning, Jaune slowly pushed himself up. Ruby helped him to his feet, clutching his shoulders to prevent him toppling backwards. Her silver eyes shimmered with concern, and reflected the moonlight back at him.

"Are you OK Jaune?" Ruby didn't babble or talk. She was being far more serious than usual now. Jaune looked around, blinking, before a wry grin broke across his battered features. He chuckled, winced, then chuckled again as he realised he was barely hurt. He'd done it. He'd survived another day, and so had everyone else.

Coughing, Jaune stood slowly, leaning heavily against the crate, with Ruby using a steadying hand. He smiled at her, and her concerned frown slowly morphed into a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Jaune. Without you..." Ruby trailed off, looking up when Jaune laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Don't mention it. After everything you did for me... for my _team_ , it's the least I could do."

He paused, and tried to use his aura on the areas giving him the most grief. Covered in a soft glow, he took a deep breath as he felt some of the aches and pains, and grinned. He and Ruby walked over to the crates, with Sun, Blake and Penny joining them quickly. As Jaune sat down, he gave a weary sigh, grateful for the moment to rest after a long, unending day.

Sun held out a hand in greeting, which he took.

"Thanks for the help. Appreciate it. Name's Sun." Jaune smiled. _I know._

"Jaune. And don't mention it. I owed Ruby more than one."

Their introduction was cut as the police began to arrive, and they were forced to give a few statements to explain the commotion. After that, they returned to a state of quiet, tension easing out.

He looked across, and saw Blake's wary, nervous face. She was clearly anxious about what he thought, and what he'd seen. They hadn't had time to talk, although he obviously hadn't said anything to the police.

The White Fang, current or former, weren't exactly welcome in these parts.

His response was to give her a soft, kind smile that reached his eyes more than his mouth.

"It's good to see you again, Blake. Your team missed you. _All_ of them." He nodded to the side, where Yang and Weiss were rapidly approaching. Weiss in particular was stalking forward with purpose. Blake's eyes widened in surprise, and with not a little fear. Ruby stepped forward to intercept her.

"Look Weiss, it's not what you think, she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute..."

Weiss brushed past her, to stand in front of Blake, hands on her hips. Blake had stood up just behind Ruby, and she spoke plainly.

"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-"

"Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you?" Weiss paused mid sentence, to allow her rhetorical question to sink in. " _Twelve_ hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided..."

Ruby, Sun and Yang looked on, worried. Jaune looked fairly bemused, but not nervous. He'd spent enough time with Weiss over these past few attempts to see that she'd try to step in and save her given the chance.

It might have always failed, but her character shone through. He smirked as she finished her disjointed sentence.

"I don't care." Blake's eyes widened in surprise, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"You don't care?" She said.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?" Weiss asked.

"No, I-I haven't been since-" Weiss cut her off from her rushed explanation.

"A-bup-bup! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up... you'll come to your teammates. And not some..." She looked over to Sun, as she caught herself from whatever she was about to say. "Someone else."

Blake smiled, and wiped her eye - Jaune assumed there was a bug in it - as she nodded.

"Of course."

Jaune could see Weiss' smile from where he sat, and he broke out into another grin.

 _It's finally over. Thank goodness for that._ He sighed as his grin faded. _I just hope... I didn't waste anything getting here. My life for theirs is one thing, but... not if I've left them behind this many times._

His calm, albeit _solemn_ introspection was shattered by Ruby, and he caught himself just as she broke the silence with a shouted proclamation.

"Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!"

He shook his head, bemused, just in time to see Weiss point aggressively at Sun.

"I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about you!" As Sun laughed nervously, she turned to Jaune, and narrowed her eyes.

"What are _you_ even doing here?" As Jaune held up his hands in a placating manner, he could see Ruby perk up, and look at him with interest, probably asking herself the same question. It's not like he'd offered to help after all.

"I was just..." He trailed off, thinking rapidly, before sighing. He tried to look embarrassed as he spoke. "I was just trying to buy a new comic. I got lost, and... I kinda just followed the plane since I figured it'd take me to the airport. Instead it just took me here, and... well. Blake and Sun were in trouble, so... yeah." He looked up, in time to see Weiss have an almost incredulous look on her face, before she rolled her eyes.

"Well, thank you I suppose." Ruby gave him a thumbs up, before looking around in confusion.

"Hey, wait a minute... Where's Penny?"

Everyone glanced about, unable to see the girl, who'd left without saying a word. Unnoticed by them, a long black car pulled away from the area. Ruby looked forlorn.

"I wanted to say thank you..." she mumbled. Jaune placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure she knew. And you'll see her around, I'm sure. It's not like we can miss her..."

Ruby giggled, and he smiled at her.

As everyone else made their way back, Jaune took a moment's pause. He turned, and have one last, longing gaze towards the shattered moon that hovered above the scene. He gave a wistful smile, and turned to join his friends.

Some of the police officers looked in his direction, as well as some civilians drawn by the commotion. It was a spectacle after all. There were a few faunus, and even some hunters complete with weapons, though they seemed content to sit back.

Everything was finished, for now.

* * *

 **Everything is finished, for now.**

 **This is probably the longest document I've ever written, and honestly, I'm happy I got this far. I wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything unfinished on the site, since abandoned fics are always a sad, lonely thing. It's been a huge, and ecstatic surprise to see ThePhantomScribe seems to have made a return, especially since Live, Die, Repeat was one of the stories this used as a springboard, albeit with far less finesse than an Olympic diver, and more like a belly flop that worked to a small extent.**

 **It's not perfect, obviously. It felt clunky at times, rushed in places and slow in others. This last chapter is a good example of the former issue, and I definitely had to fudge the timelines. The earliest chapters being examples of the latter issue. But I'm happy it's out there. I might add some smaller bits, such as snippets of volumes 2 and 3, but I make no promises, so don't expect anything.**

 **Thank you for reading. If you want to hear me explain why I started writing fan fiction, please check out my YouTube video talking about the emotions and music behind RWBY. It's not well made, but it's mine.**

* * *

"Jaune!"

Pyrrha greeted him eagerly as he stepped into their room. He'd left earlier with minimal explanation, only asking her to trust him. Which she did, of course, although telling her _why_ would have been nice. He smiled wearily at her.

"Hey Pyrrha."

She furrowed her eyebrows. He looked... tired. There wasn't really any other way to say it. But tired didn't really seem to cover it. Drained, exhausted, these almost worked, but that wasn't sufficient. If anything, it looked mental rather than physical.

Her eyes widened in realisation.

"Jaune... what did you do?" She spoke softly, delicately, as if afraid he might break.

His smile faded, and he looked down, exhaling out his nose with a sigh that carried more weight than Pyrrha could have thought possible.

"Whatever it took, Pyrrha. Whatever it took."

She walked over, and he looked up, tired eyes meeting her own. He gave a sad smile, that only served to make her eyes water.

She stepped forward and embraced him, which he gladly returned.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

 **On that note, a lot of people messaged me regarding what actually happens when Jaune dies in this story.**

 **I'll make you all a deal. If you can find a way for him to prove anything, without a doubt, I'll give you a straight up answer. For now... you know as much as he does.**

 **I also got one review that said** "So f***ing weak that he abandoned his teammates in this timeline. Yeah I'm done with this story ." **which I don't really have an answer to, but it did make me laugh so kudos to that.**

 **Goodbye for now.**

* * *

As Jaune left the docks, he and the rest of RWBY were watched by a dark skinned girl and a tall, smirking boy, with green and silver hair respectively. After a short while, they walked off, going in the direction of some other warehouses further away. From behind the crowd, a man with a thigh-length coat and two swords on his back observed their exit, a thin smirk on his plain face. He seemed to shimmer, and a pale faunus with antlers on her head turned to stare in awe at the carnage left at the docks.

In his office, overlooking his school, Ozpin checked over the events on a large black tablet, viewing the images from the docks with interest. He was interrupted by a single message, from a contact named Qrow.

"Queen has pawns."

Ozpin hummed.


	16. Chapter 16

Jaune grimaced.

Before him stood a large, growling figure. It towered over him on him legs thicker than tree trunks, with claws longer than the blades at the front of Ren's weapons, and a baleful red glare focussed on him, and him alone.

The spines protruding from the bear-like Grimm's back announced it as an Ursa Major, a prime specimen, old and powerful amongst its kind.

It spread its arms and bellowed its challenge at Jaune's face.

Behind him, the Creatures of Grimm swarmed, Beowolves prowling forwards while Creeps and Boarbatusks spewed forth, from the hole at the centre of the plaza. There was even a King Taijitu slithering about. Not that Jaune could pay attention to it right now, though.

The breach had been followed by a blaring klaxon, far enough away that it could be heard even at Beacon Academy. It was fortunate - or unfortunate, depending on how you looked at it - that he and the rest of his team were already about to board a Bullhead when it happened, so could get to the site rapidly.

And now he found himself here, alone, facing down a creature almost the same as the one he had wasted oh so many lives fighting and dying against, all that time ago...

He didn't know how long ago it was now. Sure, in a direct calendar line he could put it at maybe 30 days, 40 if he was being generous. But dates meant little in the scale of time when you might repeat the same day multiple times.

Maybe evens dozens.

It was hard to keep track, and for all he knew, it might have been a year or more since that day in the forever fall, facing down that one Ursa Major over and over again.

This one was almost the same, except for a few slight differences.

It was bigger. It was older.

It was far deadlier.

As it charged forward to crush him, Jaune couldn't help but think back on the time that had passed since then, as he prepared himself mentally and physically for that killing blow.

* * *

The course of their second semester had been a long one. Between the exorbitant amount of schoolwork that had been dumped on them, and the various events both social and criminal, it had been quite tiring, in its own way.

It started with an egregiously wasteful use of food in possibly the toughest fight Jaune had had to date, albeit one with almost no chance of his death. Or so he'd thought, until Ruby managed to slam him into a wall with such force that Jaune knew he would have died if he hadn't used his aura at the last moment.

Instead of his spine shattering, it was the wall instead.

Although considering the clean up Jaune was forced to do afterwards, maybe death _would_ have been preferable.

Still, it had been actually quite _fun_ , which was surprising considering that he had walked away covered in more sticky gunk than he'd ever imagined possible. He found breadcrumbs in his uniform for _weeks_ afterwards.

But it had been worth it.

Not that it had always been an easy, enjoyable, or _not_ humiliating term.

Admittedly, Weiss was the main source of his problems, but in hindsight it _was_ mostly Jaune's fault. His... _enthusiastic_ attempts to woo her had not gone well.

By which he meant they had been disastrous.

Confidence wasn't enough, nor was persistence. But he had at least been able to set that aside when Neptune came on the scene, albeit begrudgingly. Weiss deserved someone good, after all. So when Neptune seemed to throw it all away, Jaune was understandably frustrated. And he'd had some stern words for the boy, but not before a more sombre talk with his own partner.

Pyrrha had been nothing but supportive of him for the entire time he'd known her. He could rely on her for anything and everything, and frankly, she was one of the best people he knew. Looking back, it made his initial trust issues seem so _childish_ , and he regretted ever having doubted her.

And then to find that she had her own troubles, her own burdens, and that he hadn't been able to help?

Well, that just wasn't acceptable.

And Arcs never went back on their word.

The night of the dance, he kept his word. Since Pyrrha didn't have a date, there was really only one thing to do. And he did it with aplomb. Striding out onto that dance floor in an ill-fitting dress that somehow showed off his burgeoning physique, Jaune did the one thing that really mattered to him that night: he made Pyrrha laugh. Her joy was infectious, and soon he, she and the remainder of JNPR were tearing it up (thanks in no small part to Ren's flawless choreography), much to the delight of all of the other students.

It went from being an embarrassing necessity to the most fun he'd had this term, and he wouldn't have taken it back for the world. Fortunately, he only needed one go.

They'd heard later that Ruby had fended off an attack on the CCT tower, and though they were somewhat anxious, once Jaune had heard she was safe, he could admit to feeling relieved.

The following weeks had given Jaune time to think. On his training, on his repeats, on whether they were a result of a semblance, or even the interference of fate itself; that last part seemed _highly_ unlikely however.

He thought about the upcoming festival, their upcoming shadowing of the sheriff of a village Ren and Nora were familiar with; he thought of the schoolwork required, distant priority it may have been.

And, after he and JNPR saw RWBY off on their mission, he thought of his partner.

He wasn't stupid, even if he was slow, and occasionally inobservant. Jaune knew she was special to him, and for some reason he was special to her. What that might mean, he couldn't say, but he also thought about Weiss - and how she didn't mean the same thing to him anymore.

But there was no need to rush anything. They had four long years ahead of them, and right now was certainly not the time to do anything foolish.

So instead, Jaune trained, and studied.

And then the breach came.

* * *

Jaune huffed, having fended off a younger Beowolf before Pyrrha skewered it. Before, he might have felt a twinge of frustration. But frankly, dying often enough tended to put things into perspective: it was pointless to be annoyed at receiving help.

Jaune flashed a grin at his partner, who returned a dazzling smile - one which distracted him for barely a second - before he turned back to the next Grimmspawn that threatened his back, quickly slicing into it before pushing past and stabbing a Boarbatusk through its unprotected flank as it finished a roll.

They pushed their way through the ranks, spreading out slightly as the forced their way towards the gaping hole in the centre of the plaza. Not enough to be separated, but enough to contain some of the spreading Grimm.

He'd been woken up last night from a dropped call from Ruby, which left him a little anxious. Jaune had been discussing it with his team when the sirens blared, announcing the breach. A rapid adjustment to their chartered bullhead - and a hasty apology to Ren about the village - and they performed an aerial drop right into the heart of the swarm.

They fought and killed with impunity, allowing nothing past.

Which lead him to now.

There was a roar to his side, a deep, chesty bellow aimed directly at him.

Jaune turned to the origin of the sound.

He grimaced.

Before him stood an Ursa Major, so eerily similar to the one that had cost him so very many lives in the Forever Fall, but he noted a few disturbing differences, alongside the fact that Pyrrha was not close enough to help him right now.

It was bigger.

It was older.

It was far deadlier.

It bellowed its challenge at its face, and as Jaune readied himself, knowing full well that age came only with experience, the Ursa charged.

It was getting closer, its paws sending clods of dirt and dust into the air as the gouged the earth. He could hear the clacking of its protruding spines and thick, bone armour.

It lunged for him, every moment seemingly stretched into an age. He could see the scratches and gouges in its armour from every attempt on its life so far. Jaune's initial concerns had been more than correct.

It was _far_ deadlier than the one that had killed him more times than he could count.

But then, he was far deadlier than the Jaune he'd been before.

Jaune slipped forward inside its reach and under its overstretched arm, breathing in the stench of its foetid breath as he did, narrowly avoiding a hasty snap of its jaws. He swung Crocea Mors in a quick arc, meant more to wound than maim seriously; it worked, and he slashed inside the crook of its armpit, leaving a slash that began to bleed. It roared in pain, and a backhanded swipe was quickly sidestepped, allowing him to slash right at its forearm, leaving a far more significant wound. It bellowed in rage and pain, but stumbled as it tried to put weight on the wounded arm. Again it turned its head to him to make a quick bite.

He bashed its face with his shield.

Surprised and in pain, it flinched back, exposing its plump underbelly, allowing him a nasty swipe from tail to shoulder, spraying black ichor.

But the Ursa wasn't done yet. It knew it would die, and tried for one last, devastating blow with its uninjured arm as it slumped forward, trying to crush the hunter before it in its death throes.

Jaune again stepped into its reach, which nullified the Ursa's claw slash, but put him at the mercy of its colossal mass.

He gritted his teeth and flared his aura, lifting his shield above his head to take the strain as the dying creature fell on him, still struggling to bite at him.

It was immensely heavy, and only his tenuous grasp of aura control kept him from being crushed.

He slipped Crocea Mors between its ribs, and it expired with a sigh. Jaune heaved it off to the side, ready to kill the next Grimm that might take advantage of his momentary distraction.

There were none, Pyrrha removing he spear from the chest of the last; she looked up at flashed him another grin, which he returned in kind, before looking to the sky to see a bullhead carrying team CFVY, and watching in awe as they landed, laying waste to half of the Grimm horde in moments, with Coco's gun mowing through the swarm.

* * *

Later, after the final clearing up had been done, they sat in a moment of peace looking out over the ruined remains of the plaza. The Atlesian robots had certainly helped, and between them and the rest of Beacon's students, there had been few civilian casualties.

But few still meant some, and the damage to buildings had also been immense in the surrounding area. The cleanup and repair would be costly, even with Professor Goodwitch helping.

"It might take a long time to recover from this."

Pyrrha spoke, breaking their uneasy silence. Jaune sighed, nodding.

"Yeah. It could have been worse though."

"I suppose there is that, at least." She tried for cheer, but it seemed fake, even to her. Jaune gave her a consoling smile.

"That doesn't mean much to some of these people. But it's there, and sometimes that's all we can ask for." He looked back out over the plaza. "We did good. RWBY did good too, so for now? Let's just be glad it wasn't worse."

She gave a pleasant nod, then squeaked as he pulled her into a side hug, grinning. She flushed, then returned it with a smile. After a moment, they broke apart and Jaune stood. He looked back at her, still smiling.

"I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry, and I know a good diner a few streets over that wouldn't close even if he had a Beowolf in one of the stalls. Plus I feel like celebrating the fact that I didn't die today..."

Jaune trailed off at that. Pyrrha looked up in confusion, before understanding came to her alongside a serious of conflicting emotions and expressions, ending with her looking at Jaune with a concerned, questioning look. He shrugged at her awkwardly.

"Not once."

He slowly turned his sombre expression into a smile, and held his hand out to her. She frowned, before she again smiled in return, and took his hand. He pulled her up, and they walked off. The mood soon turned jovial after a few light-hearted jokes on his end, and before long they were smiled as they wandered.

It might have been a difficult day, but as they traded laughter back and forth, Jaune could say with certainty that he looked forward to what the future held.

* * *

 **So I, much like RWBY, am back.**

 **Briefly.**

 **There's not much to add, and I really didn't want to write anything tacked on to Volumes 2 and 3, because it's all been done before. There's minimal role for Jaune, and I have no plans to write anything detailed. But I do have an additional 3 chapters or so to upload, weekly (as before). Again, I make no promises for continuation after volume 3, because an abandoned story is a sad thing.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the opening episode of volume 6, because I definitely did.**

 **Auf Wiedersehen.**


	17. Chapter 17

Things were so different from that first day. Now, there was ash in the air and Jaune could taste the smoke. All around him he could see the vast swathes destruction wrought by the White Fang, by the Grimm, by her.

It was soul-crushing.

He'd watched her murder that woman in the basement vault, as casually as if she'd been no more than an insect. Insignificant, worthless.

Less than human.

Pyrrha's screams still rang in his head, and so did the final orders of the man he respected, almost more than anyone else. It hurt at his very core to flee, but they'd had to run.

From her.

And the worst part was, deep down, Jaune knew that she was powerful before he saw her stroll unfalteringly towards the strongest huntsman he'd known, as if she had nothing to fear.

He'd known the first time he saw her.

* * *

Jaune laughed as he and his team toured the festival stands, Nora practically dragging Ren by the hand faster than he could walk. Ren had an air of begrudging acceptance on his face, and as Jaune and Pyrrha shared a glance and a smile, he sighed before responding to some bizarre comment Nora had made. Jaune had long since given up on understanding anything between those two, but that was fine.

"Ooh, a test of STRENGTH! REN! Let's DO IT."

Jaune paled. Ren looked at him desperately, trying to find a way out of this new hell. Jaune met his eyes, before slowly shaking his head. Ren seemed to plead, before Pyrrha crushed all the hope he had left.

"Nora, why don't you and Ren go see how strong you are, while Jaune and I get some drinks?" Pyrrha interjected with a polite question. Ren looked like he was about to cry.

Nora stopped for a second, before giving Pyrrha a wry grin, and a salacious wink that she probably thought was subtle. Pyrrha flushed nonetheless.

"That sounds like a great idea, Pyrrha! You two have fun." She turned back to Ren. "Come! Let's show these peasants what we're made of!"

She dragged the poor boy away, as he helplessly stared at Pyrrha and Jaune. They waved.

"That was cruel. Thank you."

Pyrrha laughed, the sound light and pleasant, like pealing bells. "I only hope that he forgives me."

Jaune thought for a moment. "He won't."

She grinned. "I know. Anyway, shall we?" She gestured to the cocktail stand nearby. He nodded.

"You read my mind."

They made their way to the drinks stall and sat down on the stools. There was a dazzling selection of drinks on offer, though the proprietor had at least had the foresight to make a lot of them alcohol-free, especially since many of the students were still underage.

Drinks in hand, they chatted easily, having grown comfortable with each other's company over the past few months. But soon they could see on the screen above the bar that the next fight had begun. Pyrrha smiled.

"So, Jaune. Critique the fight for me."

Jaune's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Uh... isn't that what Port and Oobleck are for? I think they'd be better than me..."

Pyrrha's lip quirked. "But I want to hear what you think. It's good practice to study other fighters, and now is as good a time as any." She leaned back, resting on her arm, stirring her drink with the straw. "Plus I can't hear them very well. It is loud here."

Jaune gave a fake huff of annoyance, and she let out a laugh as he put on a bombastic, but overly posh tone.

"As my lady commands."

He took a breath.

It didn't take long for him to point out that one side's teamwork was far better, working as a unit to crush the other side far quicker than he expected.

The one with the orange jacket... she was powerful. Her technique, flawless. With one kick she sent the team member with the dark skin flying. The other people on her team finished the others off quickly.

The one in the black dress strolled over to the remaining guy, the one who'd been kicked across the arena. She leaned over, as if to check on him, then Jaune winced as she brought down her boot in a vicious stomp.

The guy rolled out of the way, and Jaune was impressed as he stood and kept fighting, even without a weapon. As was Port, apparently, calling him a true huntsman for not giving in. His technique was pathetic though, even Jaune could see. He flailed his was through her attacks, though none of them seemed to hit.

"Do you think he has luck as a semblance or something?" He asked Pyrrha, quizzically.

She hummed. "I'm not sure. He must have something, it's almost ridiculous at this point. Though he's going to be knocked out soon enough." She gestured at the bar for his aura, slowly being whittled down. "He's not good enough to stop that from happening."

They watched, transfixed, as the girl in the orange jacket stepped in, with Port describing their sportsmanship for giving the lone remaining member of the decimated team a fighting chance.

Jaune and Pyrrha were incredulous as the fight lasted for another two minutes, even going into the woods and out of camera sight for some of it. But it had to end, and end it did, in brutal fashion.

Suddenly the young man with the dark skin was sent flying out of the woods. He crashed into the arena wall, completely out of aura. He slumped in a heap, and didn't seem to be getting up. As the medics came out, the cameras switched to the victors. Jaune and Pyrrha were silent for a moment, before he let out a breath he hadn't even realised he was holding.

"She was scary good. I... I couldn't see any mistakes she made, and she was just so strong... I don't know how he even lasted that long, stupid luck or not."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement, absentmindedly. "It would be a difficult fight, to say the least." She sipped her glass. "I expect we'll see her at the end, no doubt."

Jaune nodded, then jumped as Nora slammed a stuffed toy next to him without warning.

Ren smirked. Jaune narrowed his eyes, but he had to admit, he deserved it for abandoning the poor young man to Nora's rampage. Nora herself launched into a brazen tale of victories in contests and games alike, pausing only to allow them to watch team RWBY fight on screen.

The team chatted, laughed and smiled, and then went to eat with the victorious RWBY members before their own fight.

* * *

It had been a good day, Jaune thought bitterly. But even then, Cinder had been scary.

And now he knew why.

He turned his head as Pyrrha ran out the door beside him; they had fled from that basement-turned-vault, on Ozpin's orders and in fear of her. They paused outside, to catch their breath, while Jaune pulled out his scroll.

"Okay, I think I have Glynda's number." He turned, and paced a bit while he frantically flicked through his contacts. "Oh, where is it?" He spoke, in frustration. Pyrrha turned and stared at the tower in silence, lost to the rest of the world.

The area they stood in was a wreck, a ruined carcass compared to the beauty it had once projected. Where flowing fountains had displayed proudly, only leaking stone and oily water remained. The floor was covered in scratches, ruined by great gouges taken from the ground by swords, pockmarked by explosions and bullet holes. It was littered with the synthetic corpses of the Atlesian Knights and Paladins, and with the slowly decaying bodies of the Grimm beginning to melt away in foul black flakes of ash. Fires raged in the distance from the direction of Vale, a sign of the ongoing struggle.

"Pyrrha? What was all of that?" Jaune asked, scroll still in hand, pausing in his search. She turned to look at him, hesitantly.

"I..." she trailed off. An explosion from the tower interrupted her, and they quickly looked to the school itself. There, they saw Cinder shooting up the now-empty shaft of the lift, flames trailing behind her, as she continued upwards.

"But... Ozpin..." Jaune trailed off, unwilling to voice his thoughts. Pyrrha shook her head.

"There's no time." Her expression was grim, but determined, as she looked at Jaune. "Go. Get to Vale and call for help. Jaune started, his face belying his confusion.

"Huh? What are you gonna do?" He asked, bluntly. In response, Pyrrha simply turned to stare at the top of the tower, and he followed her gaze. His eyes widened in realisation, and his voice turned frantic.

"No. No! Pyrrha, you can't. You saw how powerful she is! Even if I tried a thousand times I couldn't win, I won't let you-"

She cut him off, grabbing his head, pulling him forward.

Kissing him.

* * *

 **Oh look, a cliffhanger. This is part 1 of the Volume 3 section, and there's only one more chapter (told you it wouldn't be long), so don't expect anything longer.**

 **On another note, volume 6 carries on strong. No spoilers, but there was some interesting stuff going down. And speaking of interesting stuff, the following extra is something I included, simply because I wanted to. Don't read further into it, there isn't anything to add, and has no bearing on any further plot, nor will it affect the story.**

* * *

With a single, brutal kick, she sent the poor boy flying across the arena, before he landed and skidded atop the central platform. A quick glance up to the scoreboard showed that he had barely more than a third of his aura left. Cinder's lips quirked into a smile as she looked over and saw a disguised Neo stroll over to him. She bent down, and smirked, before lifting her boot to deliver a crushing stomp to his face.

Cinder was surprised when he managed to roll out of the way at the last second, before quickly backpedalling and standing up, fists out in front in a poor imitation of a boxing pose. Neo seemed unperturbed: with his weapon on the other side of the centre-circle, he didn't have a chance. His blue eyes moved frantically, to see if he could spot anything useful.

He couldn't, of course. His teammates had already been removed, and there was nothing around to protect him should the rest of her team step in. He refocused on Neo, and readied himself. Cinder's smile turned smug. She could almost admire his resolve, even if he was pathetic. Neo strutted over to him, as if she had all the time in the world. When she got close, he flinched and lashed out with a hasty punch. Sure, if it had connected, it might have done some damage, maybe even knocked her down a few percentage points.

It didn't, of course. Neo made the slightest movement, and his fast barely brushed her hair. In response, she whipped her foot up to his face with a grace and speed that impressed even Cinder. What impressed her more was that the buffoon stumbled back just in time to avoid the kick, before clumsily getting back into position. Cinder could tell from her stance that Neo was a little frustrated at his successful dodge. She pressed forward, and started using a complex series of moves with speed and precision.

Yet he flailed his way through all of them, barely avoiding most of her moves with such off-balance motion that he looked like a marionette which lacked half its strings, being pushed back towards the bamboo groves and forest behind him the whole while. He took some hits, his aura going down bit by bit, but never anything significant. Neo chipped away bit by bit, but never getting in anything harder than a glancing blow.

And still he carried on, until at last, there was a hard impact.

It wasn't clean, precise, or skilful, there was no technique behind the hit.

But suddenly, the boy got into Neo's space and used his head.

Literally.

His forehead smashed into her face, sending her reeling. Neo looked furious, and Cinder could feel herself getting irritated. This should have been over in moments, and yet there he stood, blinking rapidly at N-

Wait.

His eyes had just changed colour. Those pink and brown irises were uncomfortably familiar, and out of place on his face. Neo took a step back, suddenly hesitant. Emerald and Mercury exchanged unsteady looks. As Port blathered on in the background about how the strapping young lad was holding his own, in an excellent display of sporting dedication, all Cinder could think about was whether or not Neo's cover was blown. The girl looked at her, questioning what she should do.

And then the slightest motion from him caught her eye. He stood there, swaying, his aura levels just a few percentage points above defeat, everything about him screaming exhaustion.

Except for the slightest beckoning of his finger at her, from within his unsteady fist. She would have thought she'd imagined it, were it not for the wink he gave her, so fast she might have missed it.

Cinder felt a surge of anger flash through her before she quelled it. It wouldn't serve her here. But still he stood, what had before seemed like weakness now looked to be mocking her.

She seethed, gritting her teeth. She gestured for Neo to leave, that she would deal with this. Cinder approached, and she could hear Port praising their sense of fair play, for giving him a fighting chance.

It was then that she realised that this display was for her eyes only, this act put on solely for her. His face looked worried, almost scared of her approach, but his eyes had a scornful look to them.

She stalked towards him. He wanted to play around, and mock her?

It was time to teach him a brutal lesson.

* * *

 **Final part coming next week.**


	18. Chapter 18

She leant forward, clasped the back of his head, and pulled his lips to hers. He froze, briefly, in absolute shock at the action.

There was no spark of magic, he could feel no electricity dancing across his skin like he'd heard so many times. It was just... warm. It was damp.

And it felt right.

He began to put his arms around her, to embrace her tightly, to show her that he cared. As she pulled away, he looked into her eyes, feeling her hand on his cheek, and the other on his chest. He didn't know what to say, or what to do, but at that moment, it didn't matter.

Until she spoke.

"I'm sorry." Her words were pained, cracking.

Jaune slammed back into the locker behind him, both pushed and pulled by Pyrrha and her semblance, and for the second time in just a few short seconds, he was dazed, confused, and at a complete loss.

But he was hit with a sudden, desperate clarity. His eyes widened, and he desperately slammed his hand into the door, while he shouted in anguish.

"Pyrrha! Please! I can help, I'll be fine! It doesn't matter if I get hurt, just don't DO THIS!"

His screams made her look up at him, meeting his eyes sadly. Hers were shining with unshed tears, and at that moment he realised Pyrrha knew she wouldn't be coming back. His voice cracked as he tried once more.

"Please. With my semblance I'll be fine, you don't have to do this on your own." He begged.

"I can't risk it." She spoke, voice brimming with emotion.

"No!" Jaune shouted, as Pyrrha rapidly tapped in a code on the number-pad, and Jaune felt himself being launched away from the tower. It was a familiar feeling, just like when he'd been shoved into a locker before by Cardin.

That time, it had been done out of maliciousness, with the intent of causing him suffering.

This time felt so much crueller, for all the worst reasons.

It was only instinct that made him flare his aura before impact. He was barely capable of keeping his thoughts straight as it was, and he was barely keeping himself together.

Once he was no longer being rattled around like a hamster in a cage, he took a breath and flared his hand. It was too close to use his sword, so his raw strength would have to do. He smashed his fist into the door.

It barely made a dent.

Again and again he punched at the metal barrier, whittling away at his bit by bit, until with one last blow, the door smashed open, clattering against the side. The hinges gave a last, desperate groan, before the weight and the impacts overtook them, and the door yielded to gravity.

Jaune stepped out, wheezing, frantically looking around. Again, the area was desolate, but it looked like the main area of Vale. Shop fronts he'd once strolled past, as easy as a Sunday breeze, now stood vacant, burnt out. Even here, he could hear the fighting, the last stands of so many people against the face of death itself. He couldn't help them now. Jaune looked over to Beacon, his home.

He was so very far from the tower.

His face crinkled in sorrow, in despair. How could he get to her in time? How was he ever going to stop her from getting hurt?

Jaune pulled out his scroll.

* * *

Weiss and Ruby were running through the desolate wasteland that was their former home. Littered everywhere were scraps of metal and scattered circuitry, and, occasionally, blood. Or worse. It had been bad enough seeing Blake and Yang as injured as they were, but seeing signs of death all around them was a horrific feeling. But they ploughed on relentlessly, working their way towards the main campus. Weiss was setting the pace, Ruby knowing that speeding on ahead would be foolish, since separation here could be fatal.

Weiss' scroll rang. Slowing down, panting, she pulled it out and saw a familiar name and face on the screen.

"It's Jaune!" Weiss spoke, and Ruby paused, concerned for her friend in the midst of this chaos. Weiss slid the bar to answer. "Where are you?"

"Weiss!" His voice was raised, desperate. Begging. "Please, you have to stop her!"

"What?" Weiss' own voice rose to match his urgency.

"Pyrrha! She's going after that woman at the top of the tower! She doesn't stand a chance!" Jaune's words cut through her like ice.

"Jaune, what are you talking about? Where are you?" Weiss spoke faster, desperate to get answers, to find out why he sounded so terrified.

"Don't worry about me!" Weiss flinched as he shouted back, and even Ruby winced, his voice loud enough to carry. He spoke again, sounding so far away, broken almost. Plese, you have to save Pyrrha." His tone, so soft, yet all the worse for it. She swallowed.

"We will. Are you OK?"

She was cut off as a scream of anguish rang out, before the call cut off. The silence was cruel.

"Jaune? Jaune!" She spoke, as if begging him to answer.

The ground shook, breaking her focus.

Above them passed… something. Words couldn't describe what Weiss saw. A shadow, against a black sky. Flecks of white appeared against the stars, and what she thought was one huge griffon was in fact just one clawed foot. It's size was deceptive from below, terrifying and hideous. Its sheer scale was monstrous, and then she got a glimpse of its eyes.

Red, and baleful, just like all Grimm. But these were far worse. Their size would have been enough, but these hid a cruel intelligence, cold and calculating. She cringed, before glancing at Ruby.

Her partner stood watching, intent, shocked yes, but somehow not afraid. Not hiding within herself, or looking like she wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear, like Weiss did. It was almost inspiring. They watched as with great flaps of its wings, it flew towards the tower.

Exactly where they needed to go.

Ruby looked Weiss in the eye.

"I have a plan."

Weiss drew her blade, its familiarity comforting her further. It's sharp edge, the clicking gears of the revolver dust storage, the flanges around the hilt. The silver inlaid ridges were closer to her mind than her own mother's touch. They brought a sense of calm that was invaluable at that time. Weiss smirked, acting braver than she felt.

"You always do."

* * *

 **Well, here we are again. It's a little shorter, as I've split the chapters up a bit. There will either be one very long one (3K words) or two shorter ones (~1.8K a piece). Apologies for missing the last week, but I had a busy Saturday, and FF was down on Sunday, so I just delayed it by a week.**

 **In other news, my goodness V6 is continuing to be stunning. It's fast becoming my second favourite season. Hopefully this continues, but thus far they haven't failed in the slightest.**

 **And now, for a continuation of that "other", parallel story...**

* * *

Cinder snapped a kick to his side, after feinting to his head, but he didn't even attempt to intercept her first move; instead he was already through the motion of blocking her strike to his ribs. He leant back from her follow-up jab, before ducking her heel entirely and skimming her cheek with a swift punch that she almost didn't avoid.

He was good. Too good, for what she'd seen earlier.

He'd slipped into the bamboo groves, amongst the wooded area and away from the prying eyes of the crowds and cameras, and there she found she couldn't land a single hit on him. Every move she used was countered almost before she made it, every attack thwarted before it could even happen. His attacks did nothing to her, but that didn't make it any easier to deal with.

If she could use her dust, her semblance, her power, it would be over in a moment, but those were too recognisable, and they were too close to allow a trivial mistake to blow their cover.

It was infuriating. She found herself getting angrier and angrier the longer this went on. She could almost feel her eyes flarin-

He smirked at her.

The fight lulled, the frantic movements of their ongoing dance reduced. She almost hissed in surprise and anger. Of course he was mocking her. He had been the entire time. His face was almost impassive, the barest quirk of a lip suggesting amusement, as if the whole world was a joke that only he understood. Her lips pulled into a snarl, and she renewed her onslaught. This time he seemed barely able to keep up, returning to the flailing dodges she'd seen before. She caught a glimpse of the crowd through a gap in the coverage.

An act. All of it.

And with that, she launched another kick, full of power and rage, one she expected he'd avoid easily, just as he had every other time.

It connected with his chest, and he was sent flying from the circle, slamming into the wall surrounding the arena. He slumped at the bottom, his aura gone, and his consciousness vacant. The crowd cheered her victory, but to her it tasted sour.

Still, time to put on the act of the graceful victor. Time to play her role.

She would find out who that was later.

* * *

In the evening, Cinder left the hospital. It had been a risk, yes, but the possibility that their cover was blown was far greater. But instead of a cocky, taunting hunter she found a boy. When she spoke to him kindly, as if she were an opponent worried about him rather than interrogating him, she'd gotten nothing. He had no memory of their fight, and although he might have been a great actor, she doubted he was lying to her. If he was, with the machines hooked up to him bleeping steadily, he'd have given himself away.

Even still, she might have taken care of the problem were it not for a steady stream of people constantly interrupting them. A nurse checking his vitals, a doctor who was looking for a completely different patient, a cleaner who ignored her protests that the floor was clean. There was even a hunter dropping by to wish him well after his amazing performance, and who'd snubbed her entirely, much to her annoyance.

Cinder walked back to the rest of her team, frustrated, feeling like she was no closer to an answer. A nurse on a smoke break watched her go, before grinding the mostly-unfinished cigarette beneath his shoe, and returning to the building.


	19. Chapter 19

Jaune threw his scroll to the ground. Its glass cover cracked and splintered, the metal warped. Not that it mattered: it was useless to him now, just as he was useless to Weiss and Ruby. He couldn't help them, he couldn't get to Pyrrha, he couldn't do _anything_ , except maybe die.

But there was still a chance that Pyrrha would make it out, that Ruby and Weiss would get to her in time to stop that _bitch_. Until he knew for certain that he left nothing behind, and until he knew that falling on his sword right now wouldn't be a waste, he wouldn't do it. It didn't help that being stabbed really _sucked_.

There was a growl behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Six months ago, he might have watered the ground at his feet in fear at that sound.

Six months ago, he hadn't spent hundreds of hours drilling, training, suffering.

Six months ago, he hadn't died.

It took him a handful of seconds to cut the Beowolf's throat, and watch its corpse turn to ash drifting away in the draft from the burning buildings. It took him a few more to notice that it hadn't been alone. Jaune's eyes narrowed, and he stalked forwards, going in the direction of the air docks. If he couldn't help his friends in person, he could at least keep some of the Grimm off their backs.

Everything was painful. Nora could barely move, and nearby she saw Yang and Blake lying on the floor together. Jaune and Pyrrha were nowhere to be seen. They hadn't been there since before the fight against the mechs. Sun and Neptune had carried her to safety, with Ren hobbling along next to them, and they were evacuating. Ruby and Weiss had left to save the other half of JNPR, but they'd been gone so long. There was a white flash from on top of Beacon, but nobody knew what it was. She clenched her teeth in agony, her ribs aching from where she'd taken the blow for Ren, only for the silly boy to stand there and get hit anyway. She glanced over at him, if only to see for herself that he was still breathing, however unevenly.

Then she saw Jaune walk in. His arm was held stiff, painfully, and his front chest plate looked battered, with black ooze steaming from it, where he'd obviously been fighting grimm. He limped towards the pair when he saw them on the ground and sheathed his sword. Ren looked up, but remained still, having long since given up trying to move.

"Jaune! You're ok!" Nora cried out, hissing afterwards at the sharp stab in her chest.

He winced, clenching and unclenching his hand while pushing aura into it. "Yeah, just a few bruises. Nothing seri-" He stopped, having caught sight of Blake and Yang. Even from there, a dozen metres away, it was easy to see Yang wasn't whole, and Blake had bandages around her stomach, bloody and soiled. Sun stood over them, tail twitching nervously. Jaune's face went slack and his hand fell to his side, processing the sight, before his face grew pinched, tight.

"Where's Pyrrha?" Nora asked, cutting into his thoughts.

"I don't know." Jaune's voice became cracked, weak, and on the edge of despair. "She shoved me in a locker so I wouldn't stop her, and went to fight the woman responsible for this. Weiss and Ruby went after her, but... I broke my scroll."

"So you don't know where they are? How they are?" Ren asked quickly. His emotions were getting the better of him for once.

"No. I haven't heard-" Jaune was cut off by a sudden arrival.

A scruffy man she recognised from Beacon, with a grey shirt and a tattered red cape. Trailing behind him was Weiss, hurrying desperately and without her normal poise.

And in his arms was Ruby. Out cold or dead, she didn't know, but based on the way they were rushing to one of the airships, it was serious.

Jaune ran towards them, with Ren and Nora hobbling after him, pain pushed aside, if not forgotten.

"Weiss!" Jaune cried out after them. She glanced over at them, and she looked as if there were tears already forming in her eyes, waiting for one last push to fall. The scruffy man looked back as well, still striding forwards towards a bullhead.

"Go, they need you more now, Ice Princess."

Weiss looked stricken. She obviously wanted to be with Ruby, but the scruffy man nodded, and she reluctantly departed. She stopped and waited for the three, still looking at their departing form.

"What happened, is Ruby OK?" Jaune gasped out, still gazing on as the man leapt into a Bullhead, before it quickly took off. He started looking around frantically? "Where's Pyrrha?"

"Ruby was at the top of Beacon," Weiss spoke hastily, without her usual confidence, and still looking at the bullhead as it faded away. "I don't know what happened, Qrow - Ruby's uncle, that man - he wouldn't tell me exactly what happened. But he said she's okay, just exhausted and out cold from expenditure."

Weiss looked back to the remainder of Juniper. Her eyes were filled to the brim.

"All Qrow said was they fought the woman who did this." Her voice was beginning to break now. Jaune grabbed her shoulders, though not aggressively.

"Weiss... where. Is. Pyrrha?" Jaune begged.

"She... Qrow said she... s... she didn't make it." Weiss stuttered out. The dam broke and tears streaked her pristine cheeks, shattering the image of a perfect girl. "I'm sorry." She sobbed.

Jaune's eyes glazed over. They became unfocussed, as if they could no longer see her. His mouth slightly open. "No..."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Weiss sobbed out again.

Nora's breath caught, it felt like she was choking. She couldn't breathe and her vision blurred. She fell to her knees, pitching forward when Ren caught her.

Ren's face was pale, his jaw clenched and lips pursed.

He wrapped his arms around her as she tried to suck air in, but every time she did it came back as a coughing sob.

But she didn't pass out, although the pain was agonising. Her chest hurt, like it had all those years ago as she watched Kuroyuri be destroyed, burned to the ground.

Jaune was shaking. His arms dropped, and he turned back towards Beacon. He staggered towards it, barely making it a few paces before he stumbled and fell to his knees. His face was to the floor, almost like he was in prayer.

His fist slammed into the ground, with a loud noise as it impacted. And again. And again. And again and again, each time louder and louder, and he began to scream in a broken, animalistic wail.

There was a loud crack, and Nora sucked in her breath as she thought she heard his bones break.

Then she noticed he was glowing white.

And he kept slamming into the ground again and again, each time the cracking noise repeated, and his voice grew louder and soon they saw the cracks in the solid marble floor radiate outwards.

Cracked and broken, Nora thought.

Just like her family, again.

* * *

Weiss looked on as Jaune smashed his fist into the ground, over and over, leaving the once-pure white marble - now grey and smeared with dirt - rubble and dust. She didn't know how long it would last, how long it could go on.

Until, suddenly, he stopped. It wasn't a slowing down, he didn't take his time coming to a slow halt. It was like a light being switched off: chaotic and violent one moment, complete stillness and calm the next. It was as if she watched a stormy lake become placid and still in an instant, and every bit as strange.

Jaune stood, eyes unfocussed, distant, but gazing in the direction of beacon tower. Weiss could still feel the tears streak down her face, and fall into the dirt at her feet.

She jolted when Jaune suddenly took a step forward. And another.

"Where are you going?!" Nora wheezed out, her body wracked with sobs and pain. "Jaune, she's gone! You can't bring her back!"

Jaune froze.

"Yes." He spoke plainly. Forcefully. "I can." He said it with such confidence that Weiss was almost convinced.

Almost.

When he started walking again, she grabbed his hand. He looked at her, and she looked eyes with him. She expected sorrow, fear, anger, confusion, _something_ that showed he understood.

Instead, all she saw was a dark look, that spoke only of conviction, as if nothing else mattered in the world except that he walk away, along with a glint of something... broken. It scared her. She hesitated, and Jaune pulled his arm away, though not unkindly. He walked onwards, back towards the tower.

"Whoa, hey! Stop!" Sun cried out, dashing over to stand in front of Jaune, waving his arms. He left Blake and Yang in the care of a pair of paramedics, and it looked like Blake had passed out too, though she still clutched Yang's remaining hand desperately. Jaune tried to push past, but Sun simply grabbed his shoulder. "You can't go back there! There's Grimm everywhere, and nobody is still out there!" Sun spoke hastily, begging Jaune to see reason.

Instead, Jaune tried to jerk away from the hold, and became more fierce and frantic as his efforts were thwarted again and again, with Sun wrapping his arms around Jaune to keep him still.

Weiss stood frozen, unable to bring herself to do anything but watch as a bear hug became a desperate struggle, Jaune bucking and fighting with all the strength he had. Sun could barely hold on, and she heard Nora cry out to the medics standing over Weiss' other teammates, though she didn't process what was said. They rushed over, and tried to help Sun.

And then Jaune had his sword out, in both his hands, one on the blade and the other on the handle. He suddenly thrust it, sharply and forcefully, and Weiss finally reacted.

* * *

"Hey! Can you sedate him?! He's going crazy!"

Jaune heard one of his best friends cry out, and the words registered in Jaune's head just in time to feel two more pairs of hands on him. One of them let go, to pull out a syringe. His eyes widened. He couldn't let them do that, or he'd never be able to save her. His friend, partner, whatever else they were. All he knew was that if they put that in him, she was gone forever.

Jaune struggled against their hold, desperately trying to pull away. In the confused fumbling, with the aid of a backhand to one of the medics, he drew his sword, causing both of them to sharply pull back. Jaune shifted his grip, half-handing it as Sun hung on desperately, though even he shied away from the sharp edge.

But Jaune wasn't trying to attack Sun. He turned the blade inwards, at himself, and thrust it home under his chest plate. This wasn't his first time having to do the exact same thing - he'd had to do it at the docks already, and that time it had taken so very long to work up the courage, the _will_ \- and even though it wasn't as bad as he'd expected, it was still excruciating. The cold metal leaching the warmth, the stab of pain, every haggard breath drawn out and slow.

He could feel none of that.

Jaune looked down, and saw a pristine white snowflake spinning slowly just above his heart, trapping the blade.

He felt something hit the back of his heard, heard the sound of the impact, felt his teeth clack together from the force. And watched as the ground rose up to meet him. He barely felt the impact, and could see black creeping into the edges of his vision. He tried to push himself up, but only managed to slump onto his side. He looked up, his vision fading.

The last thing he saw was Weiss, her knuckles white over the handle of her sword.

* * *

 **Oh my...**

 **There is some shameful self-plagiarisation in this chapter, but I liked how I wrote this part before, and wanted to use it again, so sue me.**

 **There is effectively one last chapter rounding out this section. It should be posted next Saturday, so hopefully you can read the conclusion there.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm putting the author's note first this time, as I don't want to have anything large hanging around at the end. This is going to be the last pair of chapters (one chapter split into two effectively, for pacing), and adding a long note at the end felt... wrong.**

 **A lot of people kind of knew what was coming, and probably aren't going to be as happy with how things will turn out, but honestly? I didn't want to write it any other way. Whether I'll add more for the future, I can't say, but I doubt it. I don't see a place for volumes 4 through 6 for this story, sad as it is, and I wouldn't dream of writing an AU.**

 **What I would dream of writing, and have planned, is another, entirely separate crossover (featuring, among other characters, a sentient orangutan who really likes books). If you want to read that, or any other fic I might post, please follow me directly, rather than the story.**

 **All that aside, thank you for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting this fic. It's been a genuine pleasure to write, and to find people have actually enjoyed it, even if the writing isn't up to the standards of some of the great fics (for examples, please check out my bio; Coeur Al'Aran is a terrifyingly prolific writer with some serious talent, but there's a few other, great authors out there that deserve some love too!)**

 **With all that said, I hope you enjoy this last addition, and continue to enjoy RWBY in general.**

* * *

Jaune opened his eyes.

They weren't greeted by the familiar, comforting warmth of the ceiling to his room in Beacon, where each crack and blemish was as well known to him as his childhood home.

Instead, he saw a sterile white, with everything bright, shiny, and clean.

It was the worst thing he'd ever seen in his life, for one reason, and one reason only.

He sat up, gasping, flailing in panic, the sheets tangling and trapping him, which only increased his panicked motions, leaving him struggling, rapid and unthinking in his actions, desperate only to get out, to not stop, to get where he needed to be, to sav-

To save her.

"Jaune!"

His eyes shot up to meet Weiss', anxious worry clear on her face.

"Jaune, please, calm down. You're safe now, here."

He looked back to her, eyes broken, but with a spark of hope, that maybe they had been wrong before. Maybe she was safe.

"What about Pyrrha?"

Three words were all it took to shatter Weiss' resolve. Three simple words that carried more weight than she could bear. She closed her eyes, and Jaune knew right then that they'd been right when they told him she was gone. Weiss clarified in the worst way.

"They confirmed that Pyrrha was killed last night, while trying to stop... whoever was behind all this." Jaune choked. "I'm sorry."

He stared at the wall, for want of anything else to distract him. But he focussed on one thing, one idea bouncing around in his head. Can I do anything?

He looked out of the window. He could see Vale, with some areas trailing smoke into the sky, and bullheads flying across the devastation that was surely below. How he was in a hospital he didn't know, though one glance at Weiss could let him guess. But he also saw something else.

They were very high up. He furrowed his brows. Is it worth it?

He already knew.

"I... I need some fresh air. Can we go up?" Weiss frowned at him. Before, he'd been manic, but now... now he was calmer. "Please."

She thought it over, and then nodded.

"Alright. But just... promise me you won't do anything stupid."

Jaune smiled weakly.

"I promise I won't do anything stupid." When Weiss still looked sceptical, he continued. "An Arc never goes back on his word."

It seemed to be enough to convince her.

They made their way slowly to the roof, through the unlocked door. Jaune wasn't sure if it should be so easy to get around, but everyone seemed frantic. He could hear the sirens in the distance more clearly now, and the city seemed to be smoking and foul. Weiss stood near him, acting almost as a crutch. He didn't need it, but he could still appreciate the gesture.

He looked at the edge, and took a deep breath.

It was almost guaranteed to fail, but if there was a chance, even the slightest possibility, he knew he wouldn't be able to cope if he didn't take it.

Jaune tore himself from Weiss' grasp, and before she could stop him, he flung himself over.

Weiss hastily tried to construct a glyph to halt his fall, but in her fear and panic, she misjudged how far away he was, leaving her sustaining a construct that held nothing.

She gasped, shock frozen on her face, before she clenched her eyes shut, head turned away as if to block out all the hurt.

It didn't work.

"You promised..."


	21. Chapter 20 Part 2

Jaune opened his eyes.

It was even worse this time.

That same, sickeningly sterile ceiling bore into him, as if taunting him for his failure.

He sat up, not with the panicked, desperate struggle of before, but with the slow, staggered action of despondence.

His breathing quickened, and quickened, culminating in a choked sob, as he sat desperate to get enough air into his lungs.

"Jaune!"

Weiss came forward, worried, desperate to help.

He didn't look up.

He didn't react to her presence, and only hunched forward, hands buried in his hair, clenching clumps in his fists.

She was gone. And he couldn't save her. It was too late, there was nothing he could do.

He felt arms slide around his shoulders, and he flinched.

Weiss had stopped him. She'd stopped him from going back, from saving her, from-

He froze.

It wasn't her fault. She couldn't see it the same way he did. She hadn't stopped him from going back, she'd stopped him from dying as far as she was concerned. Gods, he wanted to hate her, to hit her, to make her suffer just like he was now. But he couldn't. Not for this.

"Jaune, I need you to calm down, you're going to be fine."

He gave a short, barking laugh in response. But there was no joy in it, no pleasure. Just spite, and anger, though she couldn't tell if it was directed at her, her statement, or himself. She sat down by his side slowly, hands in her lap, in a prim and proper manner. Her perfect poise, even now, was almost funny. Almost.

"Jaune."

He looked up at her, for the first time since waking up. Weiss cringed at how empty his eyes seemed, although she could see the misery that lay just behind them. She looked down to the side, and spoke.

"B-... before we brought you here... you tried to... you were trying to do something that I couldn't let you do. I just... I need to know you're not going to try it again Jaune. I can't let that happen." She looked back up to him, to see his eyes glistening. "Please. Promise me, that you won't do anything stupid."

He dragged his hand down his face, before replying in a rough, emotional voice.

"I wasn't trying to kill myself, Weiss." She flinched at his blunt words. "I was trying to save her."

She recoiled, and tensed the arm wrapped around his shoulders.

"Jaune... " She winced, unsure how to approach this. She steeled herself for the harsh words she needed to say. "Your death wouldn't have brought her back. Nothing you did could, and I'm sorry. But she wouldn't have wanted you to die pointlessly. There was nothing you could have done."

"You're wrong."

She was startled, and frustrated by his blunt response. She'd vainly hoped that he might have seen sense since then. Emotions had a way of clouding judgement, of course, but surely now he could start to see-

"I've never told you what my semblance does, have I?"

Weiss blinked at the non-sequitur, unsure how to process his words.

"It's not something that's easy to understand. Or at least, it is. But you won't want to." Jaune gazed out of the window, surveying the cityscape. "When something happens that I need to change, I get to wake up that same morning, as if it had never happened at all." Weiss brows furrowed in confusion. Not because she didn't understand what he was saying, but just that he was saying it at all. It made no sense. He continued, ignorant of her internal plight. "When you say I can't change things... you're right. I can't. But I could have. But not anymore, not since I started by waking up to a new day." He started speaking more harshly, his tone bitter.

"That's how my semblance works Weiss. I get to go back only on that day, to change things, to fix things, but every time, I hav-" He cut himself off, knowing Weiss would never believe him.

He sighed. It didn't matter if she did.

"I have to die." He clenched his fists, steeling himself, before looking back and meeting her wide eyes with a fierce stare that had her frozen, unable to respond.

"I have to die, and every time I do, I wake up that same morning, in that same bed, and everything is exactly how it was. But every time, I get to change what happens, and every time I get to help, either me or anyone else."

Weiss brow furrowed in worry, and she spoke again, rapidly, as if afraid of what might happen if she didn't get her words out fast enough.

"Jaune, I- That's impossible. That's just not possible!" She looked almost angry now. "Please, you have to realise that there's nothing you could have done! Nothing you can do. I'm sorry, but you have to stop torturing yourself like this!"

She took a breath to calm down. When she'd composed herself more, she continued.

"I know this is hard, but you can't change this. I'm sorry."

She looked to see Jaune staring out the window. She folded her hands into her lap, and waited for a response, which came slowly.

"That day... at the docks. With Blake. You asked me why I was there. And I told you it was because I wanted a comic and got lost."

She frowned, nodding.

"I remember."

Jaune sighed.

"I lied."

Her eyes widened as her frown deepened.

"I was there because it was the only way I could think of to save you. I could have told the teachers, but I had no idea if they knew about Blake, or if she'd just disappear. The first time, Torchwick shot Ruby." His head turned and he met her gaze with a calm anger in his eyes. "She died."

Weiss' own eyes widened in shock.

"I jumped off the roof of Beacon, and then the next time, I tried to keep Ruby away, but then nobody saved Blake. She died, and I had to let myself get shot. Then it was Sun, or Yang. Once... once it was you."

Weiss looked down at her hands, unable to think of a reply to someone telling her she'd died, no matter the circumstance.

She froze as his hands were placed gently on her cheeks, and she met his gaze. On his face was simply a small, broken smile, with tired, sorrowful eyes.

"I've given my life so many times for all of you. And I don't regret it, not even once. It's been worth it every single time. You don't have to believe me, but I've told you the truth." He breathed out wearily. "It doesn't matter now." His hands dropped to his lap, and he turned to stare back out the window, as he finished.

"It's too late anyway.

"She's gone, and it's too late." He turned back to her, eyes watering. "There's nothing I can do. But there was something I could have done. And I didn't." He gave a broken, cracked sigh. "She's gone, Weiss. Sh-" He took another, dragging breath which tore at her heart, her eyes tearing up further as she felt on trail down her cheek.

"She's gone."

Her tears fell more freely, and soon his fell too. They sat there, in heart wrenching silence, unable to say a word, but joined by sorrow. Weiss didn't know whether to hug him, or leave him, and so did neither.

It was only later that she broke the melancholy quiet.

"Jaune."

He looked up at her, to see her grimacing at her scroll. She met his eyes.

"My father is coming to collect me. He's taking me back to Atlas." She frowned. "I don't have a say in the matter. I don't want to leave, but..."

Jaune nodded.

"I understand. For what it's worth... thank you. Not for what you did, but for what you meant to do." He looked out of that window again. "She would have been glad you did it."

He didn't need to say exactly who she was. They both knew. Weiss gave a brittle smile.

"I hope so. And Jaune..." She paused, to collect herself, before speaking with a slight tremor to her voice. "Take... take care of my team. Please?"

"I will." He spoke, without turning back to her. Her face fell, as she left the greatest portion of her life behind to join her Father, and to live in a glass cage.

"Goodbye, Jaune."

She turned, and left him behind.

Alone.


End file.
